Polycephaly
by Kay Celestine
Summary: When Alex Rider died, his sacrifice was to ensure his freedom. It didn't. Standing over his lifeless body she whispered, "Oh, Alex. If only you knew your death would be the beginning of your problems."
1. Prologue: Sweet Sacrifice

**Polycephaly**

**by. KayCelestine**

_**.**_

** Prologue**

**.x Sweet Sacrifice x.  
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* * *

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_"...Shrugging off visions of an early death"_

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* * *

_It was one of those moments when you knew that something was off; that something was wrong. It was a feeling, nothing but a small feeling, but it shrouded about him, warning him. Ripping, digging, clawing, it tore at his soul, nagging his very being. It weighed on his conscience, granting him no rest. It surrounded him like an aura and covered him like a blanket. It was a feeling he knew all too well... it was the feeling of death. He turned to face the window, desperately hoping that the feeling would leave. He knew better, past experiences had taught him so. Once you felt this, it was inevitable. It was going to happen.

If anything, his surrounding appearances did not help. Looking through the window, he felt the feeling of dread cloud over him thicker than before. The nighttime sky rumbled; darkness shrouding the land. Rain fell to the Earth like bullets. It was a starless night. Any sign of the shining stars had been erased by the storm clouds. The sky roared; a flash on lightning mercilessly struck the earth. The forest shook and the waves roared, crashing against the boulders. For a moment it seemed, the world churned. Then it was still. A scary silence hung like a veil over the land. _Even the world knew..._

Under normal circumstances, no on would have ever ventured out in such a threatening storm. However, these weren't normal circumstances, these were far from it.

Sighing, Alex turned his attention from the volatile scene before him. It was a wonder they had not been struck down by lightning by now. Who had ever heard of flying a helicopter in pre-hurricane weather? This was suicide, but then again, everything they did was suicide. In actuality, this was the usual. The lives of the SAS were that. Sure they were the elite but they were also the lamb. It was there job to sacrifice themselves if necessary to complete a mission. It was their way of life, the only thing they had been trained to know.

"Ready Cub?"

Startled, Alex turned to see the caring face of none other than Fox. He was fully dressed in combat fatigue, his gun perched upon his shoulder. Alex shook his head slightly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit anxious really." Alex leaned back against the cold walls of the copter. "I just want to get this over with and go home."

"Don't we all?" Alex and Ben turned to see Wolf sitting pessimistically in the corner. He sighed, flashing a tired smirk at Alex. "I swear, this bloody ride is going to lull me to sleep." Yawning he leaned back, relaxing.

"Oi, wake up! If you fall asleep we might miss our drop point."

Annoyed, Wolf opened his eyes to see an irrate Snake looking at him. "That's it, up!" Alex couldn't help but chuckle; for a group of elite military soldiers, they sure as hell acted like a gang of children. Fox scoffed, obviously annoyed at their childish behavior. "Honestly, what's with the lot of you? Act your age."

The two soldiers silenced immediately. Snake rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off. "This will not go well..." The three soldiers turned to the newest addition, Panther. His dark eyes were staring off into space, as if they could see the ill fated mission playing out before them. Everyone shuffled nervously, exchanging glances over what had just been said. Numbly, Panther turned to them, "We should have not accepted this mission..." His black hair contrasted menacingly against his pale skin in the storm, emphasizing his words.

As soon as it left, it had returned... the feeling. Alex could feel a lump forming in his throat. He had just recently gotten over his feeling of death and here was Panther reminding him. What was he to do? He felt his temperature rise as his heart started to pound. The rooms stood still, the only thing being heard was the whizzing of the helicopter blades and the thrashing of the storm. Alex wasn't sure how long they had sat there in silence; whether it was a few moments or minutes, but the silence was unnerving.

Wolf's voice pierced through the silence, cutting it like a knife. "What the bloody hell Panther? What the hell are you going on about now?" His voice was clear and enunciated, an obvious attempt to mask the uneasiness in his voice. He ran a hand through his hair agitated. "Bleeding mad. Always going on about some sort of bad luck or some shit like that," he mumbled to himself, scowling.

Panther simply ignored him, turning his attention back to the storm outside. "Be careful Alex," he warned, his voice void of any emotions. Alex tensed at this. _Why him_, he thought. Fox's fury blazed at Panther's words. It was natural; Fox had always been protective of Alex and this was no exception. It wasn't really that Panther was threatening Alex directly, or intentionally for that matter, it's just how he was. Panther was a sullen guy; the type of person you will never want to get stranded in any dark place with. His grim view on the world (or your current situation for that matter) could test anyone's sanity.

"Watch your mouth..." Fox threatened, his eyes glowering menacingly at the raven haired man.

Panther looked up, unfazed. "What?" he asked clueless, his eyes empty.

Fox scoffed; it was unsure whether this was for Panther clueless behavior or if it was simply disdain towards the pessimistic man; most likely both. While Panther could be the most attentive, he was prone to dream like trances which left him completely unaware of his words. Take now for instance, he clearly did not recall his warning to Alex. Rolling his eyes, Fox turned his attention to Alex. "Ignore him, right? You know what a dolt he can be a times," Fox said smiling. Grateful, Alex tried his best to smile for him, but that was not an easy task when he couldn't help but feel Panther might just be on to something.

"Lock n' load guys; 5 minutes to our drop site."

Fox and Alex turned to see Wolf and Panther putting on their parachutes. The once calm room was now filled with a flurry of excitement as the men hurried to get everything ready before they were to jump. Checking their weapons and supplies one last time, they prepared for a mission that allowed no room for mistakes. "Let's go," Fox said before joining the two men. Alex sighed, it was now or never. Desperately, he fought off the dark feeling that had returned full force.

Alex reluctantly got up, quickly finding his place among the men. If didn't matter if he had changed his mind about the mission; the only thing that mattered was he was already there, a few moments from go time, and there was no backing out now. He would have to hush the feeling and carry it out. It was foolish he knew, to have Panther influence him so greatly. A price so dear he had paid with his judgment. Alex hurriedly strapped on his jumpsuit and hastily grabbed his weapons. Any moment now they would be given the signal; under no circumstances could he afford to even mess this up the slightest... _especially _not this early on.

Now that all four soldiers were in position, Wolf gave the signal; thirty seconds to go. Reaching out, Wolf opened the copter door, preparing it for their jump. Alex shivered slightly as the rain and cold came flooding in. He wasn't prepared for the torrent of ice water crashing against his goggles and involuntarily he took a step inward to Fox. Fox didn't say anything, not even a glance, simply nudging him back in position. Alex fell back into position, but not before glancing in Panther's direction. Panther now looked like a real soldier; focused and prepared, not grim and dream like which he was a frightening amount of time.

Alex looked straight ahead into the darkness. His heart beat rapidly. _How was he to get to the site if he couldn't even see in front of him? _Suddenly, Alex felt the warmth of another hand in his. Looking up he saw Fox flashing him a quick smile before turning his attention back to the scene in front of them. _Thank you_, Alex thought. Now he only had to make sure he didn't fuck up and bring Fox down with him.

"10 seconds," Wolf called out.

Instinctively, all four soldiers crouched over preparing for the jump. Alex's heart was beating dangerously as he focused in on his mission. _5...4...3...2...1... GO!_

It was almost magical, the jump. Alex felt his breathing shallow as he plunged into the dark abyss which was the sky. He felt the adrenaline surge through his being, intoxicating him. He seemed to be inwardly choking on the ecstasy. For a moment, he forget where he was. He was lost in the moment and nothing was interrupting him. There was no mission, no threat, just this. Losing himself, he submerged himself in the feeling. Alex vaguely thought is this was what suicide had felt like. An irreplaceable freedom from the burdens of the world. _Take me..._

"Cub!"

_Take me..._

"Cub!"

_...I'm ready_

"CUB!"

_This is it..._

Alex felt the sting of a hand across his face. Shocked, he snapped back to reality. His memory came flooding back to him_; _the mission, the feeling, the jump. He gasped, feeling the torrent of icy water crash against him. Alex was no longer in his safe haven, he was now plunging through a storm onto the ground below. He felt the pricks on his face warning him; he was going numb. _Impossible..._ Then he remembered. _The copter..._ he had been rushing and had forgotten to secure his face protector. _No... a mistake so early..._ For a moment he panicked, temporarily flailing his hand. Feeling the secure grip on his hand, he remembered..._ Fox. _Then he felt it, the hands gripped on his face. His face pulled up, looking directly ahead. Fox was holding his face, calming him._ Relax..._ he mouthed. Alex felt his panic subside slowly. Fox looked at him, signaling that they were to be landing soon.

Alex felt his body thrust upwards as the parachute set in. Still secure in Fox's grip, Alex allowed himself to be carried. In a matter of moments they were landing in the forest. Alex winced slightly as he felt the branches nip at his flesh. It seemed to take forever, but at last Alex's feet felt the security of the ground. Shivering slightly, he looked up at Fox to make sure he was alright. Fox simply got straight to work securing the parachute. Looking around, Alex saw the silhouettes of the two men landing. They were close, only a few meters from them. Inwardly Alex flinched at the sight of Panther's dark eyes. Of all the things that were not cloaked by the darkness, it _had_ to be his eyes...

"What happened up there?"

Alex felt Fox's hands on his shoulders, pulling Alex to him. Looking up, Alex saw the fear that were laced in the older soldier's eyes. He opened his mouth to answer Fox, but no words came. Fox looked at him, cautious. "Cub, are you all right?" For the sake of the older soldier, Alex tried once more. "I-I don't know..." he said meekly. "Nothing happened." Fox just stared at him. "Cub, don't..."

"Are we set?"

Fox and Alex turned to see Wolf and Panther a few feet from them. "Well..." Wolf questioned, eyeing them suspiciously. Promptly releasing Alex from his grip, Fox stepped back. Alex simply looked at Wolf, still en daze from earlier.

"All set," Alex heard himself say.

Panther glanced at him, "A bit disillusioned from the jump are we?" He nodded numbly, there really was no denying it.

From the corner of his eyes he could see Fox looking at him concerned. Alex knew that until he told him, Fox would be like that. Being like that, Alex knew that Fox was going to be a lot more protective of him. _Shit..._ just what he needed, Fox essentially risking himself for him. Shaking his head, Alex put his best face forward. "I'm fine," he said, voice steady. The others seemed to have bought his facade, and if not, they simply chose to ignore and believe it.

Armed and ready, Wolf motioned for the others to follow him. "Go time..."

* * *

Alex felt the sharp twinges of pain slowly taking over his legs. He didn't know how long they had been walking, but he knew it had to be _at least _two hours. While Alex could normally handle this, the environment was seriously slowing him down. His body was slowly numbing from the cold and the icy rain hindered him greatly. The rugged terrain of the forest further slowed him down. Breathing steadily, he attempted to reserve his energy. He didn't have to look; he could feel the occasional glances of Fox's on his. _He was worrying..._Alex inwardly prepped himself, attempting to look a bit more steady. If there was one thing Alex couldn't handle, it was Fox getting injured because of him.

"We're almost there," Alex heard Panther say from behind him. Looking ahead, Alex could see the dim lights of the plant. He sighed, feeling his heart skip slightly. _Calm down, what's with you today?_ Alex asked himself. He shook off any feelings of insecurity. He was Alex Rider, top MI6 agent. He knew what he was doing, he had done worst. All he had to do was get in, plant the chip, and get out. Simple. No fighting, no confrontations. Just a simple hit and run.

Alex glanced over at Wolf. "Ready Alex?" he had asked. Alex nodded, he was more than ready.

Looking ahead, he scanned the plant. There were guards stations all over; there was a large steel fence about a half of mile up with barb wires to complete it. There were 5 guards at the entrance and 2 guards every 25 feet apart on the fence. As with the guards, there were also a helicopter patrolling the perimeter, followed by searchlights. _Shit..._ Alex wasn't sure he had the energy to be stealthy enough to maneuver around so many guards. Sighing, he ran through all the possibilities in his head.

"Oi, Cub. Come on..."

Alex snapped his head around, looking towards the voice. Turning, he saw Wolf's peeved expression.

"What? I was just thinking..." Alex said, confused.

"Think out loud. Got it?" Wolf answered annoyed. Sighing, Alex turned to the older men. "Here's the plan," Wolf began, "There's a cargo lorry coming in in an hour. We're going to meet it right here. Once it gets here, we hijack it and take their places. I have ID's for everyone here. " _Simple enough..._ Alex thought.

"As for you Cub," he said, motioning towards the younger boy, "we're going to put you in one of the freights. You're still going to be dressed in their attired with your own ID in case someone spots you. Panther here will be bringing in said crate. This will help you pass through the X ray scanner's undetected," he said, holding up a device no bigger than a few millimeters. "Once in position, get out of the crate and make your way to Room 3-BL. There you'll use this to get inside the room..." Wolf held up a card looking key. "Once in, plant the device and make your way back to Panther and get back in the crate. He'll wheel you back into the truck."

Alex and Panther nodded. While the plan was very simple as long as Alex followed all his instructions carefully, he wasn't looking forward to having to be with Panther. The dream liked expression on Panther's face brought back the dreadful feeling. _Damn you Panther.._. he thought angrily. Alex shrugged off his feelings in an attempt to quell his rising anger. Think positive he told himself. At least he was not with Fox, who would have been obsessing over him.

"Fox, me and you will be carrying the freights to the 5th level and there we'll put the interference. Panther, Cub, do not plant the device till you have our signal. It will freeze the camera for a second, that way you can plant the device safely. You'll have 2 minutes. So you need to work fast. Make sure no one spots you. " Wolf stopped, looking around. "Okay, I don't think we need to think anymore on it, it's a simple plan. So everyone, just do your damn parts." Wolf got up, turning to Panther, "I don't want any trouble from you, got it? Fuck _anything_ up and I'll kill you myself." Panther sighed, nodding at him. "I won't..."

Alex couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Panther was the only one who could piss of Wolf simply by looking at him. Maybe it was Panther's dreamy persona clashing with Wolf's soldier like persona. Or maybe it was because Wolf liked to be in charge where Panther didn't give a shit and did whatever he wanted. Whatever it was, it was riot to watch them when they clashed. Absolutely nothing was better nor funnier than watching them fight. But as soon as they had started, they stopped, not bothering to get into their usual fight. _Must be the fact we're on a mission..._ Alex thought.

"Now," Wolf said, looking at everyone, "we wait."

* * *

_Could this be anymore boring..._ Alex thought, frustration taking him over. When Wolf had told them that they had to wait a hour, Alex had been slightly relieved, he would be able to get some rest. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about his little problem. The little problem of him being slowly eaten alive by hypothermia. Within a few moments of them settling down, Alex had found his thoughts pushed aside by the growing numbness of his body. They were small pricks, but he knew that they were bad. He desperately wanted to make a campfire, but that would have been stupid, not to mention life threatening. So instead, he resorted to curling up into a ball next to/on top of Fox. That had resorted in him being silently jeered by Wolf and even Panther; that had to be the only thing the two had done, sans missions, together. _Aw look at ickle Cub crawling next to his daddy..._ Wolf had said, while Panther decided that... _When they named him, they must have meant [Fox] cub._ Fox didn't seem to mind, and though annoyed, neither did Alex.

Then came the wait. Wolf had told them that the lorry would come in an hour, he hadn't fully realized how long that would have been. He knew he fell asleep quite a few times on Fox, waking himself up within moments of snoozing off. The final time however, he fell asleep for good. It felt good to get some rest, but once the time started to draw near, Fox had woken him up. Even though it was still 20 minutes shy of the time, Fox had thought just in case they came early. Alex couldn't be annoyed, not when Fox looked annoyed for waking him up. So Alex had simply stayed curled up, fighting off sleep. The cold was doing a good job with helping him; it would have been better if it were still raining, but thankfully it wasn't. Alex would have surely died from cold sooner.

Yawning, Alex sat up. God he wished the lorry would hurry. Then he heard it, the sound that meant that lorry was drawing close. _Speak of the devil... _Within moments, all four soldiers were up and running, their plan being set into motion. Like planned, Alex went to stop them. Alex ran ahead of the others, being sure to get in front of the lorry before it was too close or had passed. He made it in time; the lorry was about a few meters from them. He immediately went into play, throwing himself into the way of the lorry as if he had been shot. As predicted, the lorry swerved, trying to avoid the fallen figure in front of them.

Alex lay on the ground, appearing lifeless.

_"What the bloody hell?"_ he heard someone say.

_"It's a bleeding kid,"_ said another.

"_Why is he here? What happened to him?"_ he heard the third one say.

_"Shit, move him out the way so we can go before whatever got to him, gets to us,"_ said a fourth guy.

It was quite foolish of the men to take Alex's fallen figure so loosely. Had they been thinking, they would have thought it quite peculiar for anyone, let alone a teen boy, to be here, in a remote location. In fact, they should have been suspicious. But if the thought had ever dawned on them, it was too late. As soon as they opened the lorry door to move him, the other soldiers went into play. Alex heard the muffled sounds that meant that his teammates were dealing with the men.

"Let's go," Alex heard Fox say to him over his shoulder. Getting up, Alex noticed that the three men were nowhere to be seen. "Great job," he said to the older men. They simply flashed him a smirk before getting dressed in the uniforms. "Here," Panther said throwing him his clothes. Alex examined the attire. Surprisingly, it was almost a perfect fit. Alex still didn't understand why there were four sets of clothing for three men. "Eh, spare," was all Fox had said. Getting dressed, Alex quickly went to join the men in the lorry.

"Oh no you don't," Panther said smirking._ Shit..._ Alex thought, remembering where he was to be. "Let's go," Panther said, grinning mischievously.

Rueful, Alex followed Panther to the back of the lorry, inwardly cursing himself for being the smallest. He saw the cargo in which he was to hide, prepped and ready for him to slip in. Alex sighed, getting in.

"You better not hit any bumps," he threatened. "I'll try," said Panther, eyes glinting with mischief. "Here," Panther said, handing him the device that was to get him pass the security check before closing the cargo.

_This was going to be a long ride..._ Alex thought as he felt the box being lifted up and put into the back with the rest. With a thud, Alex felt himself being thrown back as the lorry started to move._ Bastard._.. he grumbled angrily.

Alex gritted his teeth as he felt the swerves of the lorry. With another thud, Alex was thrusted against the wall of the freight. _A bump... asshole_, he thought livid. He could almost see the sadistic smirks of the faces of Panther and Wolf. _The damn sadists..._ Once more, Alex felt himself being thrusted to the other side of the freight. It was official, the bastards were not _avoiding_ the bumps, they were most likely _looking_ for them. If they kept this up, he might not be fit to complete the bloody mission.

With a final thrust, Alex found himself wound in a rather painful position. He didn't bother being upset; instead, he just sat there, trying to uncoil himself. After a few minutes, and surprisingly little to no bumps or swerves, he was able to sit comfortably. The way he figured it, Fox had either threatened the two sadists or simply taken over the wheel himself. _Thank god..._

Within a matter of moments, Alex felt the lorry slow down. They were there... Not too long after, he heard the approaching footsteps of the security guards. _"Identification..."_ he heard someone say. Alex felt immediately froze, the last thing he needed was to even _breathe_ too loudly and get detected. He sat there, listening to the men. There were a series of shuffling afterward, followed by a voice. _"You can go." Phase one complete, _he thought to himself.

Alex heard the footsteps of the men not retreating, but coming closer to him. _The security checks... _Alex quickly [and silently] activated the device before the men came. A small green light shone indicating that the device was working. Alex inhaled sharply at the feel of the freight being lifted up. _"What the bloody hell? Christ, this one weighs a ton,"_ he heard someone say. Inwardly Alex chuckled. _Poor bastard... _Perking up, Alex heard another man speak. _"Open it up, then..."_ Alex stiffened, _Shit, not good. _

Alex heard the rustling that meant one of the men were fidgeting with the lock. He immediately went into overdrive; his mind raced, going through all possible plans. The shuffling intensified, until Alex saw the the tiniest glimpse of moonlight through the small opening. _"Oi!"_ A noticeable thud could be heard as his head collided with the side of the gun. Alex nearly jumped when he heard the commotion. His chest heaved, _That was close._

_"What the fuck was that for?" _said the man indignant that he had just been struck by a gun. _"Don't play coy!" _Alex heard another man say, well yell. "_You know damn well you're not supposed to open them. Run them through the scanner and that's it! Don't even look at them too closely," _threatened the second man. Alex sat still, grateful over what had just happened. Alex saw the man reseal the freight and felt as he was lifted up and onto the scanner. Once he felt the scanner move, he breathed out in relief. _That was close..._ he thought, thinking about how he had nearly been discovered.

Suddenly, Alex's device changed from green to red. _No... Is it-is it malfunctioning?_ Alex thought startled. _Shit... why the hell is everything going wrong?! Panther was right..._ Alex sat motionless, attempting to think of yet another escape plan. _"Okay, it's good,"_ Alex heard someone say from outside. _Huh?_ Before he could try and find a rational explanation, he was lifted up once more and placed down. As soon as he was off the scanner, the device changed back from red to green. _Oh,_ Alex thought, realization dawning on him. It was green when it was turned on, but it changed to red when it was in use. He silently chuckled, _Damn, I need to calm down or I'll lose my mind_.

Alex felt his body fall backwards slightly as he felt the freight being wheeled. _"Damn lucky bastard..."_ Alex near chuckled out loud at this. He knew that voice all too well. _Panther... _Relaxing a bit, Alex leaned back against the freight. Just as soon as he got comfortable, he was thrusted forward, his head colliding against the front of the freight. _Fuck!_, he thought angrily. It was slight and barely noticeable, but Alex heard it; Panther's soft chuckling. _Bastard,_ he inwardly growled.

* * *

For the next 10 minutes, Alex was sure he would end up [if he hadn't already] suffering from a concussion. Panther, being the bastard he was, spared Alex no pain in hitting every single bump and crack in the floor. Quite a few times Alex nearly cried out and was so sure that once he had made a noise loud enough to be heard. Sure enough, someone had noticed it. _"Did anyone hear that?"_ he heard from the outside. Unconsciously, Alex had stopped breathing, going into his quiet mode. Luckily for him, someone had made a similar noise and for the moment Alex was safe. _I'm getting too old for this_, Alex thought ruefully, despite the fact he was only 15.

With a few more thuds and crashes, Alex and Panther had finally reached their destination. _Thank God..._ he thought grateful, sure that if he had spent another minute being wheeled he would have split his skull open.

Playtime was over; any moment now he would be given the signal. Alex prepped himself, preparing for the task ahead. _Room 3-BL, Room 3-BL, Room 3-BL._.. Alex ran the room number over in his mind. Alex quickly ran a hand over his left pocket, making sure that the room key and the device were there. _Key... check; device..._ Alex froze. _Fuck_, silently he ran his hands along the floor of the freight for the missing device. _Shit, this was all Panther's fault._ Alex prayed silently that he found the device before the signal was given. If not, he was, all in all, screwed. Alex's search became more and more frantic with each passing second. _"Go..."_ Panther whispered softly, the signal had been given. _Shit, shit, shit... _Alex pressed his hands against the flooring. _"Cub, now,"_ he heard Panther hiss. _How much time had passed? _

Alex felt a cold surface against the tips of his fingers. _Found it! _Significant time already lost, Alex quickly [and quietly] dashed from out of the freight, mindful of not to be spotted. It was all blurred; the hall, the rooms. _Room 3-BL_, Alex thought once more. _There..._ Just ahead Alex saw the room. Running, he quickly took out the key; not once stopping, swiping as he ran through the door. Alex saw a lone desk, _there... _Quickly, he ran towards the desk, planting the device on the bottom of the desk, right where the user would sit. Alex knew his time was near up. Already activated, Alex left the device and turned, poised to run back to Panther. Only there was a problem.

He didn't know when it happened, or how for that matter. After all, everything had been carefully planned and despite his late start, he was sure his time was not yet up. There was no way he could have been discovered. But there was. Because standing in the mouth of the door was three men, two workers and Panther. It was large knife, about 9 inches long and 1/2 inch thick; a weapon you really did not want to be up against. The knife however, wasn't for Alex. It had already found a nice little place to rest... on Panther's throat. Alex felt the lump in his throat form as he saw the knife resting on the Panther. _Shit, shit, shit_.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" the man holding the knife sneered. His was very built, his body looking nothing less than that of a body builder. He had the same cold unfeeling eyes that all the villainous murderers had. Alex heard the second man snicker besides him. He was medium built, with the same cold unfeeling eyes, except his mouth was curled into a sick smile.

Alex gazed into the eyes on his teammate. _'Go...'_ Panther's eyes pleaded. _'Leave...'_

It would have been the smart thing, the military thing to leave. Necessary sacrifices they call them. Only Alex only _fought_ like a soldier, he didn't think like one, and if there was one thing he wasn't going to do, it was leave a teammate. Even if that teammate had just more or less tried to bash his skull in.

Alex glanced around, trying to find a way to save Panther. He couldn't attack head on, they would just slit Panther's throat as he ran towards them. Alex saw a bar hanging over the door holding up a portrait. For a moment he contemplated throwing something at it; it was right over the men and would definitely hit them. But Alex still couldn't shake the feeling that it was still too risky. The men could either be surprised and freeze, or they could slit Panther's throat the moment he moved his hand.

"I wouldn't move if I were you _little boy_," Alex heard the first man say. "My hand might just..." the man pressed the knife closer to Panther,"..._slip._" Alex inhaled sharply as he saw Panther wince in pain as the small pebbles of blood started to form on his throat.

Alex never took his eyes off Panther, and Panther the same. It was quick, not even a slight nudge or movement. If anyone had seen it, they would have thought nothing of it. But in the eyes of Alex and Panther, it's importance was utmost.

It had happened so fast, the guards had no time to really process it. They just stood there, dumbstruck.

Panther had elbowed his captor, taking the man off guard and distracting them from Alex. Panther didn't mind death, but the idea that his young teammate could die had made him willing to sacrifice himself. But the one thing he hadn't expected was for Alex to use his "sacrifice" to save them both.

As soon as his captor had buckled, the other man had instantly turned his attention from Alex. Something he had used to his advantage. Seizing the moment, Alex grabbed a small clay figurine from the desk, throwing it at the weak point of the shelf above the door. As expected, the shelf buckled, falling on the two men, narrowly missing Panther.

Panther stumbled, confused, but Alex had no time for explanations. Swiftly, he grabbed the older man by the hand and dragged him out the door and through the halls. They had not gotten far when the alarm had rung out. _Shit..._ Alex thought as he ran. He had no clue what to do. Alex felt his hand being pulled, causing him to momentarily stumble. Startled, Alex whipped his body around to attack.

"Stop!" Alex stopped right in time..._ Panther_. He had forgotten he was holding Panther's hand. No time for explanations, Panther simply pulled Alex towards a stairwell. _Why didn't I notice that?_ Alex asked himself. As they ran, Alex heard the yells of the men, as they began to catch up with them. The two burst through the stairwells, looking for anyway they could slow down their chasers while they ran. That's when Alex remembered it, the pen that Smithers had given him. It appeared to be a small silver pen, but that was hardly the case.

Holding his breath, Alex grabbed the pen from his pocket, twisting the cap twice. Suddenly, the tip of the pen started to smoke. _Perfect!,_ Alex thought. He spun around for a quick moment, throwing it downwards on the stairwell into the oncoming men.

The pen did it's job flawlessly. The men continued to run, unaware that the smoke coming out of the pen wasn't really smoke. But Alex knew what it was, Smithers had warned him against it. It contained dangerously high levels of extract from Valerian. Valerian was a herb that was used as a sedative, however, when the dosage is too high, it causes slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. So it was no surprise that Smithers had chose that; it was could be useful when fighting.

The herb began to set it. The men slowed, eventually falling down the stairwell dazed and confused.

Smirking, Alex looked up at Panther, who smiling as well, motioned his head telling Alex that the exit to the stairwell was drawing close. Alex saw the dim moonlight coming from behind the door. He smiled, a warm feeling of happiness as he realized how close they were to being safe. All they had to do was make it through that door, and then scale the side. When Alex had activated the plant, it had automatically sent out a signal to their helicopter, disguised using the enemy's insignia. And when Alex had activated the pen, that had sent out an alert that they had been compromised. Within moments the copter should arrive. All they had to do was stay alive.

Panther burst through the exit, Alex following suite. Then a shot ran out.

Their joy however, was quickly ended. The sight awaiting them was not freedom, but their captive teammates. Looking to Panther, Alex gasped. There was Panther, lying against the wall, blood seeping through the corners of his mouth... he had been shot! He could still see that the man was alive, albeit barely. Alex ran to help him when another shot ran out. This one was meant to finish the job, killing Panther.

"Panther!" he felt like crying out. For a moment, Alex was frozen, eyes wide in shock. Looking at the broken figure of his teammate, he felt the wave of loss washing over him. He had not known Panther for long, but minus a few occasions, they had gotten along quite well. They had become close, bonding over the one thing they had in common, their loneliness. Panther had been the only one Alex could ever talk to about his life, and Panther the same. Slowly, Alex felt the loss turn to anger, surging through his veins like poison. Alex felt unshed tears fighting for their freedom. _Panther..._

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you."

Turning, Alex glared, coming face to face with the man behind everything, the man that had just killed Panther... Richard Hale.

Hale had short snow white hair, his face lined with wrinkles, signifying his age. His cold blue eyes peered at Alex menacingly. He dressed expensively; donning a black suit complete with designer watch and the expensive shoes... and the custom made hand gun.

"How nice of you to join us?" he sneered. "We've been watching you for a while. At one point, I thought you would never come..." he laughed, a cold, cruel laugh. He signaled to the man next to him. "Kill them..." he said, pointing the gun towards Wolf and Fox.

The man looked only too willing to comply. He had a dark, olive toned skin. He looked to be Oriental, but the night covered him, making really hard to tell any features besides his dark, unfeeling eyes.

The man turned towards the captive men, but Alex was not going to let them die. He still had some tricks up his sleeves; he _was_ Alex Rider after all. He cocked the gun, preparing to fire. Alex subtly reached into his pocket, pulling out yet another pen. But this one was different, unlike the last one that smoked, this one fired darts... sedative darts, to be precise. According to Smithers, the dart could out shoot the average hunting hand gun, something Alex desperately need right now.

With a flash, Alex fired the dart. He wasn't aiming, he just needed to do something to prevent Fox and Wolf from being shot. It worked, but barely. The man buckled, within a instant, all hell broke loose.

There had been four men on the roof besides the soldiers; Richard Hale, the guy with the gun, and the two men holding Wolf and Fox. As soon as the guy with gun went down, the other two had been caught off guard. Fox and Wolf had used this to their advantage, lashing out at the men behind them. As they fought the men, Alex jumped into action, going after the shocked Hale.

Hale stepped back, cocking his gun. By the time Hale had raised the gun, Alex was already there. Alex lashed out, using Kizami Zuki, the front jab. It worked, sending Hale's gun flying.

Alex heard the approaching helicopter. They had to take out the men before the copter arrived, or they would just shoot it down. Alex punched Hale, an uppercut, sending the aging man slowly backwards. Glancing from the side of his eyes, he saw Fox and Wolf fighting. They had their hands full, but they were slowly winning over their opponents. What Alex didn't notice however, was the man that had been lying on the ground was no longer there.

Alex delivered his final jab towards Hale, fury blazing through him; the image of Panther's lifeless body flashed through his mind. Furious, Alex jumped, delivering a jump kick towards the man, sending him plummeting off the roof and to his death. Right then, Alex was not thinking logically, he was just thinking about Panther and revenge. With a sick satisfaction, Alex watched as Hale collided with the ground below.

It was then that Alex felt it, the wind change slightly. Alarmed, Alex attempted to move, but was unsuccessful. The guy that had been on the ground had gotten up, and the first thing he had done was lash at Alex's neck. Thankfully, Alex had moved, albeit slightly, but enough to turn the fatal attack into a simply painful one.

Alex had stumbled, but quickly recovered, blocking the kick aimed for his face. Alex moved back, staying in offense. The man was a skilled fighter, nothing like Alex had ever experienced. It was impossible for Alex to go into offense. Alex blocked jab after jab. The man spun around, using a Mae Geri Keage, the snap kick. Using this to his advantage, Alex caught the kick, rather painfully, and twisted the man's foot.

He yelped, but not before elbowing Alex in the nose. Alex stumbled back, momentarily dazed. The man spared no time, lashing a series of punches and kicks at Alex. Unable to defend himself, Alex felt blow after blow, till eventually he was on his back. Alex felt the searing pain that ran through his body, and tasting the blood that had overflowed in his mouth.

From the corner of his eyes, Alex could see that the man had moved onto the already weakened Fox and Wolf. They didn't stand a chance. Alex watched helplessly as the man fought them. They were losing, Wolf could barely stand, and he doubted Fox could see anything through his bleeding face.

That's when Alex heard it, the approaching helicopter, and the men. They effects of the herb had worn off and now they were making their way to the roof. If the men made it, they would die. There was no reason to keep the three soldiers alive. The leader of the operation was dead, so now this was all purely vengeance. Alex had to do something.

Without thinking, Alex dragged himself off the ground, heading for the man. He saw the discarded and ran towards it. Reaching, Alex attempted to pick it up when he felt the foot on his hand. He yelped in pain. _Fuck, fuck, fuck..._

"Where do you think you're doing?" Alex heard the man sneer. He heard the incoming footsteps; the men, they were getting closer. It was now or never.

Gasping, Alex felt himself being lifted off the ground. With a burst of energy, he kicked the man. Who released Alex, stumbling back. Alex ran towards his teammates, who looked barely alive themselves. "Get on!" he yelled, commanding them to get on the copter. Using their last bit of energy, they got on and reached out for him. "Alex watch out!" Fox yelled, but it was too late. Alex felt the rough hands grab him from behind and the cold feel of the gun to his face.

He couldn't have known it was going to end that way, but he did know something was going to happen. _The feeling.._. Never betray the feeling; something Alex had done. Something that had cost the life of his teammate, and he knew, his life as well. Either way, Alex knew he was going to die. He looked into faces of Wolf and Fox for one last time. It was a blur, the shocked and frightened looks on their faces. They were going to try and save him. _No, they would die..._ At that moment, the door burst open, the men finally arriving. The copter lifted up, wanting to save the lives of the last two men. They had called after him, but he had to save them. He couldn't have them die.

With a final burst of energy, Alex grabbed his captors hand, taking control of the aim of the gun. It was the very same moment the man had pulled the trigger. The bullet soared through the hole, ripping into Alex and through the man behind him. It was single shot, but it had done it's job. Instead of one, it got two. The shot rang off into the night, taking the two souls with it.

That was the night. The night that Alex Rider died.

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**Oh my gods. I finished the preface o_0 **

**Never thought that this would happen. For the last three weeks I had been laboring on this damned single chapter. But I did it. The longest damn chapter I ever wrote (and fittingly, the longest that ever took to write).  
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**This is my first Alex Rider fic; I just had to write one. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to be nice or anything ridiculous like that simply because it is my first story.  
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**Luckily for me, a plot came out of nowhere and collided with my mind. Thus, Polycephaly was born. "Polycephaly" essentially means having more than one head. This deals perfectly with my story, metaphorically obviously. Took me _forever_ to find the right title, but I finally found it :D  
**

**Well, time for the disclaimer:  
DISCLAIMER: I _DO NOT_ own Alex Rider or the opening lyrics which are from Smile Empty Soul, "Don't Ever Leave".**

**Reviews are appreciated and flames are accepted.**

**R&R  
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	2. Chapter 1: Life, Shattered

**Hello! ****I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to all those who reviewed. That's the most reviews I've ever gotten for a single chapter. ****Wow, now I know what fandom the reviewers are on. Lol You guys have no idea how much I appreciate you reviewing :D  
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**Okay, I got a few reviews asking about what happened to the rest of K- Unit. The thing is, I was not aiming for K-Unit, I simply wanted to use Wolf and Fox. So don't think about team, think simply collaboration. I know that both Alex and Fox are MI6 whilst Wolf was SAS and technically they don't really mix like that. There was no real reason I chose those two, other than simply because I wanted to. On the matter of team, I had just wrote Panther in because I thought he would help add to the air of mystery and suspense.**

**To **Wolfmonster **: This is in regards to your review. I had searched you to see if you were a member and found a name, but I wasn't sure it was you. So I simply decided to respond to your reply here. Okay, thank you for pointing out the errors, I will try my best to eliminate them this chapter and the ones that follow. Normally I would go back and correct them, but in all honestly, I'm not in the mood. The chapter has over 8,000 words and I dread having to go through it with a fine tooth comb. Sorry. As for Alex... I don't know ;P**

****This chapter takes place 4 years after Alex's death. I'm not going to put up a time line or anything now or in the later chapters. Why? I _will_ mess it up, thus confusing all readers. Lol**

**Also, bear with me if I tend to accidentally Americanize the characters. I am American so I do tend to mess up when it comes to British terms and so forth. I am trying though, I even found a site that offers British phrases, but I most likely will still make mistakes. **

**Sorry if the update took a little long. Last chapter was _way_ over my average word limit. I usually only have about 3,500-5,000 words per chapter, but because it was the preface and I couldn't exactly split in two, I had to jam pack it all into one chapter. However, seeing that most of the reviewers would prefer for me to keep the chapters that long, I've decided to. It really wasn't a decision though, I tend to try and please my reviewers to a certain extent. :D So that's why it might take me a bit longer to update, but don't worry, I will always try and update within a fair amount of time.**

**DISCLAIMER: I _DO NOT_ own Alex Rider or the opening lyrics which are from "Tell Me It's Over" by Meese.  
**

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**Polycephaly**

**by. KayCelestine**

**.**

**Chapter One:**

**.x Life, Shattered x.**

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_"Is this, is this the start of it?"_

* * *

**4 Years Later**

*Creak*

*Creak*

*Creak*

The wood floor creaked gently as the little boy attempted to sneak across it. His tousled blond hair bobbed slightly as he tip toed gingerly, his tiny fingers clutching the walls for support. He frowned, realizing how much noise he was making. Looking up, his frown quickly turned into a grin as he realized he had reached his reached his destination. He reached upwards, tip toeing trying to grab the door knobs. Gently, he turned the knob, pushing the door slightly. He poked his head through the door, looking for his target. The little boy flashed a toothy grin as he saw his target... his sleeping older brother. Giggling softly, the little boy ran on the tip of his toes towards the sleeping teen.

A mere feet from the bed, the boy poised himself for the jump from the floor unto the bed. He let out a giggle, a bit louder than he would have liked, as he realized his plan had worked. With a pounce, he landed on the sleeping teen. Startled, the teen shot up out of his sleep. "Huh?" he questioned, his eyes eyes darting around the room in a flurry of confusion. Panting, he tired to find what had woken him out of his sleep. The teen wildly looked around, oblivious to the little boy who had fallen to the wayside of the bed, suppressing his giggles.

Finally, the little boy couldn't hold it in anymore. "I'm here, Ro," he giggled, holding out his hands towards his older brother, "Ids me." The older boy, Ro, simply stared, shocked. "You..." he said, feigning anger. Sliding off the bed, Ro picked up his giggling brother and twirled him in the air. The little boy laughed madly as his older brother blew into his stomach.

"Ro... stop it Ro," he choked between laughs.

Ro stopped for a moment, contemplating the request. "Hmm, should I?" he said, eyes twinkling with mischief. All the little boy could do was giggle in response. "I'll make you a deal, Aser. I'll let you go,_ if_ you promise that you won't do that anymore."

Giggling some more, the boy replied. "No."

"No?" Ro repeated, feigning shock. "Are you sure Ace?"

The little boy looked up at him with joyful brown eyes, "No".

"All right then, don't say I didn't give you a fair warning." Ro flipped Aser sideways and proceeded to unleash a torrent of tickles on the little boy's stomach.

In a wild fit of laughter, Aser relented. " 'Kay, 'kay!"

Ro stopped. "I beg your pardon?" he said, putting his ear close to his little brother's mouth.

" 'Kay, I'll stop," Aser breathlessly repeated. Satisfied, Ro placed the boy on the floor. "Now get out. Run along now," he said, playfully nudging Aser in the direction of the door. Laughing, Aser happily complied, running full speed out of the room.

Smiling, Ro watched the retreating figure of his baby brother. It was the same thing every morning; Aser would "sneak" into his room, or so he thought. But Ro always knew. He knew from the very first time the boy had crawled out of his bed and ended up in his room. The creaking floor and infectious giggles were what gave Aser away, but Ro dutifully played the little charade ever morning, mindful not to let his brother catch onto his ruse... not even the slightest. After all, what kind of person, or older sibling for that matter, crushed the hopes of a 3 year old?

Ro sighed, making his way towards the closet. He groggily rubbed his eyes as he rummaged through the many articles of clothing. _Honestly, why do I need so much clothes?_ he thought to himself. _Half of them just gets thrown in the rubbish or donated anyway. _Luckily for him, he had taken his shower long before Aser had woken up, a small act that saved him a lot of time considering they had somewhere to go and he couldn't possibly get out of bed without Aser's morning wake up calls. Ro rummaged a bit more before deciding to to just throw on the next two things he saw, whether they matched or not. Silently, he rejoiced finding a simple outfit to wear. Putting on the plain blue hoodie and a pair of jean, he made his way to breakfast.

Even as he made his way down the staircase, he could hear Aser's light laughter being carried from the kitchen to upstairs. The closer he got, the more he heard until he could make out that the little boy was recalling how he had sneaked into Ro's room and surprised him. Entering the kitchen, he saw as Aser flailed his tiny arms, reenacting the scenes. Their mother "oohed," "ahhed," and gasped at all the appropriate moments. _How can such a tiny thing be so dramatic?_ Ro questioned himself as he watched Aser's recounts become increasingly dramatic.

"Good morning Rowan."

Rowan turned to see his father standing in the door way. "Morning, dad," he greeted dryly, "oh, morning mum," he quickly added, forgetting he had not said anything to his mother.

His mother briefly turned her attention from Aser to him. She nodded a small greeting before quickly returning her attention to the 3 year old. "Di' ya 'ear mummy?" Aser asked. "Of course," she replied smiling. Aser took the bait and quickly returned to telling his story. _God rue the day that Aser learned to talk_, Rowan thought bemused. It seemed like only yesterday when all his brother was doing was baby babbling. In fact, he had done it for quite some time. But somewhere near his third birthday, the little boy had said his first clear word. Even since Aser had found his voice, he never let it rest.

"Really?" their mother said, feigning surprise. "Huh-uh," Aser confirmed nodding, his tiny head shaking vigorously.

Laughing, Rowan fished around for something to eat. "Rowan," he heard his father call.

"Hm," he replied.

"I'm going to need you to take your brother to the doctor today," he said, his expression serious, "your mother and I have to do something and we won't be able to take him."

Inwardly, Rowan sighed. "Yes dad," he mumbled. His father sent him a stern look, but said nothing.

It wasn't that Rowan didn't like being near his little brother, he quite adored him to be honest, it was just that it seems he was always playing parent to Aser. His parents were rarely ever around, always on some sort of business venture or had something to take care of. It got frustrating after a while. Sometimes he wondered how he managed to even _have_ a little brother. His parents were rarely around each other and they weren't exactly the most loving. There was a time, however, when he had suspected his mother of infidelity. Aser was definitely the odd one out in the entire Massey family. The Massey's were a dark haired, green eyed family; even on his mother's side. So how Aser managed to get blond hair and brown eyes were completely beyond him. His father had said nothing, so neither had he.

Rowan felt a small tugging at his shirt. Looking down, he saw Aser grinning broadly. "Ya gonna ta'e me to the docta?" he said, his childish voice laced with happiness. Smiling, Rowan picked him up and held him. "Of course, when have I ever _not_ taken you..." he said, making a small jab at his parents. Rowan glanced at them from the corner of his eyes to see if they had picked up on it. His father sent a small glare his way while his mother simply scoffed; they definitely picked up on it.

"When awe we goin'?" Aser questioned, his brown eyes gazing at his elder brother. Rowan shrugged. He turned to his mother; "What time is the appointment?" he asked. His mother simply looked at him incredulously. "I don't know," she snipped, returning to her work. "Please Rowan, I'm busy, ask your father."

_I'm busy_, he inwardly mocked. She was always busy. She wasn't a mother, she was the woman who just so happened to give birth to him. Rowan didn't hate his mother, he loved her...deep down, but most of the time he disliked her and her work habits. Not for reason concerning him, but his brother. Rowan was used to the coldness of his family, but he had somehow managed to survive nineteen years with them unscathed. His brother he feared, might not. The jolly child demanded attention and love, and if it weren't for him, the child would have probably been a shell of his self; neglected and alone.

With Aser in his arms, Rowan walked over towards the board where important dates regarding him and his brother were posted. He gazed at it for a while, not seeing the appointment. _What the bloody hell? _he thought to himself. Sighing, he glanced over to board once more, careful not to miss anything. But once again, nothing. _Of course_, he thought angrily, _they hadn't _put _the date up. Must have been **busy**... _

"Here it is Rowan."

Turning, the first thing he saw were loving blue eyes..._ Laura. _She held out at piece of parchment for him to take. He smiled, "Thank you. What would we do without you?" he thanked. Laura was his former nanny, and now Aser's. Laura was the only person next to his brother who he loved the most. She was like a mother to him, taking care of him and nurturing him when his own mother had neglected him. Her light brown hair and her kind blue eyes gave her a very maternal look. He knew she never had children of her own, so she had "adopted" them. In a way, she was their mother.

"You're welcome, love," she said, her Scottish accent clear. "Now hurry and leave before you're late." Gently, she nudged them in the direction of the door.

Rowan looked down at the piece of paper. _Dr. Landings, Suite 21-D, 12:30 pm, Wednesday March 15. _Rowan glanced at the time once more, before looking at the actual clock. He looked over at the clock in the dining room... 11:36 am. _Shit!_ he thought, realization dawning on him; they had to leave now or they would miss the appointment.

Realizing that time was of essence, Rowan bid Aser to kiss Laura goodbye. "Buh bye," he said, his tiny hands opening and closing as a goodbye. Laura managed to flash the little boy a smile as Rowan darted out of the house and to the car. She sighed, sometimes she really wished he would slow down and not be in such a state of disarray. If it was one thing that boy needed, she concluded, it was to stop and smell the roses.

Rowan rarely forgot to say goodbye to Laura. This, however, was one of those rare instances. He had thought nothing of it when he remembered. _She understands, _he reasoned as he strapped Aser into his booster seat. He wasn't trying to be heartless or anything remotely, it was just all he could think about was making the appointment on time. Their doctor was very prestigious and as a result, could not spare a moment for a late client. Also, the way he figured, he would see her later when they returned.

It was always said that you never know what the future brings, and that you should treasure every moment like your last... people included. After all, you never know if you are seeing a person for the last time. How was anyone to know? How was Rowan to know this was one of those time? That for the next few weeks, months, _years_ he would be regretting his decision to not go back inside? That the decision would haunt him so viciously? The decision not to say goodbye to Laura... his decision not to say a final goodbye.

Rowan shuffled with the straps, attempting to hold down the antsy toddler. "Ace, please sit still," he said, desperate. But Aser simply ignored him, wriggling against him. "No." Sighing, Rowan used a little force, holding down the boy just long enough for his to secure the straps. Aser let out a small yelp as he was being pinned.

"Hurt! Hurt!" he cried.

Rowan, finished, released his hold instantly. "Sorry dove, but it's to keep you safe," he said, gently massaging the sore area. Aser said nothing, simply frowning.

Once Aser was strapped in, Rowan quickly proceeded to start the car. Starting the car, he turned to the now solemn toddler. "Ready?" he asked, confused to the toddler's sudden mood change.

"No," replied Aser, his lips pulled tightly into a pout.

"Why not?" Rowan asked.

Aser frowned. "I 'member, Dr. Lanis don't give lollies."

Rowan fought off the urge to laugh, suppressing his giggles as he stared at the serious expression on Aser's face. Leave it to Aser to remember that the doctor refuses to give out lollies and get depressed -- well as depressed as a toddler can get.

Smiling, Rowan pulled the car out the driveway. _Three year olds_, he thought happily.

* * *

The rain beat mercilessly against the hood of the car, falling like bullets onto the hood of the car.

Rowan frowned as he attempted to drive through the hell formally know as weather. He loved England, truly he did; but he did, however hate the constant raining.

He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see where he was going. He knew that they were almost at the doctors, he saw the usual landmarks that indicated hat he was nearing the building. However, due to the heavy rain, he could not completely make out the numbers indicating which building was which; a minute thing that caused a great deal of problem considering that all the buildings looked the same.

He groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. Today was**_ not_** his day...

"Ro, whas wrong?" Aser asked innocently from behind, his little feet dangling in the air.

Sighing, he replied, "Nothing, Ace."

Aser took the bait, shrugging his brother's frustration off with ease.

Rowan swore silently as he checked his watch. _12:11 pm._.. if they didn't get to a building now, they were going to be late and miss the appointment. Squinting his eyes once more, he tried to remember any marker for the building. It was frustrating, one would think after nineteen years he would know the place like the back of his hand. Unfortunately, he didn't.

_Come on, come on_, he thought, trying to retrieve some sort of information. _Got it!_ His frown turned instantly into a grin... he remembered. He looked around to see the building, tall and proud... and the third to last one on the left. He stepped on the peddles, happy that he would be making it on time.

Aser picked up on the sudden mood change. "All betta?"

Grinning, Rowan glanced in the mirror at his brother. "Yep, all bet-"

It was fast and unforeseen. One moment, the road had been clear, the only car being Rowan's. The next, a pair of headlights were heading straight for him. The car swerved violently, narrowly missing the incoming car. It was a shock to Rowan's system. Granted he had taken his eyes off the road for a second--albeit a mere moment, but it was impossible that the car could have just come out of the blue like this. No indications, no warnings...

... no signs.

Panting, Rowan desperately tried to steady the car. It worked; within a manner of moments, the car had readied itself. Frantic, he looked back, checking up on his brother. The toddler's head hung low, his breathing shallow. And just like that, Rowan felt his heart stop. _No, no, no_, he thought, emotion overtaking him. _Please_, he begged. He lunged over the seats, grabbing the little boy's wrist. The pulse was steady and strong, a betrayal to appearances.

"Ro, whatcha doin'?" he heard a tiny voice ask.

Rowan breathed a sigh of relief, blinking back tears as he gazed into the confused eyes of his little brother. "Just checking..." he said, trailing off. Sleeping... Aser hadn't been injured, he had fallen asleep. Aser blinked at his confused. "Ro, your eye's all wet and leaky. Are they gonna pop?" he asked, titling forward to examine the eyes. Rowan laughed. Another thing about Aser... if it was unexplainable, in his book, that meant it was going to pop. Rowan really didn't know where the boy had gotten the notion from, but he did.

Rowan turned, peering outside the car window. If he had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the car, it was not going to happen. The road had returned to what it was... rainy, quiet, and abandoned. Confused, but exhausted, he checked to see if they had neared the building. Sure enough, they were near the building... in fact, they had managed to park there.

Grinning, Rowan turned the car off, exiting the vehicle. Opening the passenger door, he quickly unstrapped Aser from the booster seat. With Aser happily [and drowsily] in his arms, he checked his watch once more. _12:14 am... Perfect_. Just in time for him to make his way upstairs and prepare for the appointment.

It wasn't until later that the situation had dawned on him. Sleeping... how the hell had Aser fallen asleep in a manner of mere moments, split seconds if you may. Only to be awakened not by the feel of a narrow escape of injury, or possible death, but by the soft presses of his brother's fingers against his wrists. And how had the road resumed its state of abandonment, when a car had just skidded there?

There were no signs, nothing...

... almost as if it had never happened.

* * *

"Oi!" yelled the man glaring at the running teen. He stumbled, grabbing the walls for some sort of balance.

Rowan hastily looked back at the man he had nearly ran over. "Sorry!" he apologized, not once stopping to see if the man was okay. Aser giggled happily in his arms as he ran down the corridors and to the office.

_Bloody hell_, he thought, annoyed. _How had I let time just slip away like that? _

He quickly glanced at his watch... _12:26 pm. Fuck! _

"Run, run, run," Aser chanted happily. Any other moment, Rowan would have smiled, but not this one. Not when they had so little time left to make it to the suite. Granted, they were already in the building, and just a few minutes from their destination, but that wasn't going to cut it. Their doctor, while sometimes nice, was a complete arse when it came to punctuality. It wouldn't surprise him if the doctor, just for the sake of being an arse, canceled the appointment because he was a few moments late.

Rowan swerved around the bend, narrowly missing an elderly couple. "Slow down lad!" the man called after him. _Slow down?_ No chance. Rowan yelled an apology to them as he ran, silently praying that he would make the appointment... in one piece.

"Run, Ro, run," Aser chanted again, clapping his tiny hands as he bounced in Rowan's arms. _This is all that stupid elevator lift's fault_, he grumbled to himself. And that was true. The two had been on time, with a few minutes to spare when they had entered the lift. But much to their (mainly Rowan's, as Aser found the experience quite funny) dismay, the lift had encountered a few technical problems, thus stranding them for ten minutes. When they were finally freed, they were released on the second floor; their appointment was on the seventh floor. Thus leaving them in their current predicament.

Panting, Rowan leaped up the stairs, careful not to accidentally drop the giggling toddler. He hastily looked up at the sign... _Seventh Floor. Yes!_, he internally rejoiced. They were almost there. He quickly check the watch once more... _12:28 pm._ It was going to be close, but he had a chance of making it... even_ if_ it were exactly on the dot.

He burst through the doors, nearly knocking over a little girl. He could hear her mother(?) yelling at him, but right now, he couldn't care less. He glanced at the door numbers. _20-A, 20-B, 20-C, 20-D, 21-A, 21-B, 21-C, 21-D... 21-D, there!_, he thought, quickly running to the door. He nearly tripped as he made his way there, but quickly regained balance.

Rowan burst through the suite doors. "We're here," he announced panting.

There were quite a few curious stares as well as some scoffs. He couldn't blame them. After all, he did burst through the doors like a lunatic; his hair in complete disarray and his face was most likely flushed from running up five flights of stairs, all in the manner of a few minutes.

The receptionist cleared her throat. "You're late," she said dryly, pointing to the clock... _12:31 pm. _

"You're not bloody serious?" Rowan asked, aggravated. There was absolutely no way she was going to get on his case for being one minute [or two depending on your views] late.

"Watch your mouth," she snapped, eyeing him suspiciously. "Rules are rules, _little boy_. Do learn to follow them."

Rowan opened his mouth to argue when he was cut off.

"Honestly Angeline, let him be," said an older nurse, who Rowan recognized instantly. He felt the shadow of a smile creep upon his face... Donna. She had known him since he was younger, when he was the one coming for the appointments. She scoffed slightly as she continued to talk to the bitter receptionist. "He's only a few minutes late, but it's not like him. Rowan is usually punctual. Aren't you Ro?"

Rowan nodded a bit arrogantly as he realized that the younger nurse had just been overrided. She simply glared at him, mumbling something incoherently as he was led to his room by Donna.

Donna opened the door, motioning for him to go inside. "Here we are love, your room." Rowan nodded gratefully as he placed Aser down, making his way towards the chairs.

"Oi, Rowan, what the bloody hell happened to you? You looked like you've just run a bleeding mile," Donna commented, eyeing him up and down.

Sitting, Rowan replied wryly, "Close. I just ran up five floors in a manner of minutes so I wouldn't miss the appointment." Donna said nothing, simply laughing as she made her way out the door.

Finally alone, he slumped in his chair, exhausted. He closed his eyes, choosing to enjoy this rare moment of relaxation.

"Ro?" he heard Aser call.

"Hm?" he answered, not bothering to open his eyes.

"I'ds scared. I's gots a funny feeling," Aser answered shakily.

Hearing this, Rowan opened his eyes, sitting up. "Come here," he said, motioning for Aser to come to him. Aser complied, making his way to his older brother. Rowan picked him up, seating him on his lap. "Listen Ace, there is nothing for you to be afraid of," he soothed. "Nothing is going to happen. You're just going to get a little check up, no needles or anything, and then we leave."

Aser looked up at him with unsure eyes. "Promise?"

Rowan smiled, "Promise." Aser leaned on him, yawning. Rowan, taking this as moment to relax, slouched once more, closing his eyes.

The two boys sat in silence, enjoying their peace. Rowan sighed, he couldn't remember the last time he got to relax, outside of sleeping of course. It seemed ever since Aser was born, he was running around playing darling older brother. Sacrificing himself for the boy, making up for the many moments that their parents missed. Most people didn't understand.

His friends, understanding at first, eventually drew away as they realized he was no longer going to be around like before. He didn't mean to, but he had other priorities. He wasn't like them, carefree and spoiled. At one point, he was, but not any more. While being a "parent" was tiring, he was still happy. Aser had a way of making every feeling of doubt go away once he looked at you.

"Ro?"

"Hm?"

"I gots to go the loo."

* * *

They stood outside for a brief moment, eyeing the building. To anyone passing by, it would have been suspicious to see the four cloaked figures standing outside, in the rain, staring down a building. But of course, no one was there. And if they had been... well, they weren't anymore, not since the moment they had made the mistake of looking at the figures too closely.

The rain beat down mercilessly on the grounds, but they didn't seem to mind. They stood there, focused, unfazed by the pellets. Their still postures could be mistaken for statues; stiff, unmoving, and steady. Finally, in a swift movement, they began to walk. They moved together as one, unnaturally in sync. Nothing about them seemed to contradict.

The receptionist looked up to the figures. "Exc-"

A muffled sound could be heard, followed by the falling on the receptionist to the desk. It was positioned perfectly, the fall. Once shot, she fell forward, giving any passerby the impression that she had simply fallen asleep. No one would ever guess she was dead -- unless of course, they leaned in to her and spotted the growing pool of blood forming under her chest. But they would be long done with their assignment by then and if not, they would simply change into a more inconspicuous attire. No worries.

A figure broke from the group, moving towards the doctor files. With a flurry of excitement, the figure flipped through the pages until they had found what they were looking for. A small sick smile formed in the corner of the figure's mouth as the figure examined the paper... _Dr. Landings, __Suite 21-D__._

"Here," she said, throwing the paper to the other figures. They looked it over for a moment before tossing it aside. She quickly went to go join them as they began moving once more.

They passed the elevator, opting for the more secure stair. As they approached the stairwell, two of the figures stopped, standing resolute in their spots. One figure went back towards the elevator, standing guard, while the other waited at the foot of the stairs. One of the remaining two figures broke away for a brief moment, making their way towards the security room. An old man was seated in the room, his chest rising gently as he slept. The man snore loudly, his chins vibrating as an effect. The figure raised their hand, revealing the silver gun. Within a instant, two muffled sounds silenced the sleeping man. Satisfied, the figure proceeded to shoot the security screens. No evidence.

The figure went to rejoin the other and they quickly made their way up the stairs, killing any and everyone that they passed. No witnesses... those were the rules.

The muffled sounds now long gone, silence weighed heavily in the air. The silence was betrayed only by the light sounds of footsteps as the figures moved stealthily through the stairwell. After a few moments, the first figure motioned to the other to look upwards.

_Seventh Floor..._

A sick smile formed once more in the corner of their lips... they were close. Quickly, they made their way out the stairwell, clearing the hallway of any unfortunate passerby.

_20-A, 20-B, 20-C, 20-D, 21-A, 21-B, 21-C, 21-D... **21-D. **_

The two figures exchanged glances, the assignment was almost done. All left to do was simply retrieve them and leave... oh and of course, collect the other half of their payment.

The first figure motioned to the other to open the door, her gun poised under her clothes for the attack. As soon as the door opened, a series of muffled shots rang out as the victims fell one by one to the floor. The other figure quickly made their way towards the back rooms, making sure no one had escaped. Given their extensive training, it had only taken a few seconds for the situation to be under their control. That and the fact that no one had even thought of making so much as a struggle.

The receptionist stood wide eyed behind the counter... shock, she was in shock. That would not do, she needed to be completely aware right now... she could be in shock later when they killed her.

The second figure emerged from the shadows with the doctor and another, older nurse. With the gun pointed at the receptionist, the first figure turned to the other two captives.

"Where are Rowan and Aser Massey?"

* * *

"Aser, what in the word is taking you so long? We'll miss our appointment!" Rowan called impatiently to the toddler. He was sure they were going to miss the appointment, after all, they had just walked out through the back door, not bothering to ell anyone where they were headed. Sighing, he opened the door revealing the little boy. Aser looked at him wide eyed from under the tissues. "Not my fault," he quickly said.

"Ace, what did you _do_?" Rowan knew he couldn't blame the boy, it was not his fault... not entirely. It was his own fault for letting the toddler use the public loo all by himself; he should have known the boy was bound to cause _some_ sort of trouble.

Aser looked up at him from under the avalanche of tissue and shrugged."I's took piece, like you say. Then it all came out. I's try to put it back, but it won't go back," he said innocently. Not bothering to press the situation any further, Rowan simply ripped through the tissue, freeing the little boy. Gathering them up, he quickly threw them in the rubbish.

"Help, please."

Rowan looked up, knowing why he was needed. He picked up the little boy, allowing him to reach the sink to wash his hands. Finally finished, he put him down and started to walk back to the office.

Aser trudged along solemnly as they made their way back to the office.

"Now Ace, Dr. Landings is not going to hurt you," Rowan comforted. Aser looked at him, frowning, but didn't say anything. Rowan sighed, picking him up. "Nothing is going to happen. I promised remember?"

A shadow of a smile could be seen on Aser's face. "Yeah, I 'member."

Rowan smiled, turning the corner. "Good, so you know that I-"

Rowan froze instantly, automatically pressing his hand over the boy's mouth. _No... _he thought. He blinked a few times, desperately trying to see if what he was seeing wasn't real, but it was. The office door was opened widely, allowing full sight of the situation. The situation in this case, of the two figures that were pointing guns towards someone. Rowan pushed his head just a bit more around the corner, so that he could see who it was. He began to make out the people; it was Dr. Landings, the receptionist, Angeline, and _no... _He felt his heart stop. _No... Donna._

Her dark hair was disheveled and she looked wild. There was a large angry gash on her cheek, the blood covering half her face. Her body trembled slightly, but she didn't show any signs of tears or that she wanted to cry. Dr. Landings however was a different story. The man looked terrified, desperately trying to tell their assailants something.

"I-I don't know where they've gone," the doctor choked in between sobs. "Th-they were h-here a moment ago, but now they're gone."

The doctors words rang through his head. Could it be... that the people were looking for them? Rowan shrugged the thought off. _No, impossible, _he reasoned, _why would would anyone come looking for them?_ Rowan leaned forward, just a bit more, to try and see the assailants more carefully. It was useless; the figures had their back turned to him, the only thing visible was the long dark hair on one of the assailants... and their guns.

One of the assailants sighed. "We'll ask you one last time. Where. are. Rowan. and. Aser. Massey?" It was the female speaking; her cold, annoyed voice ran through his head. _No_, Rowan thought, as he replayed what she said in his head. They **_were_** looking for them.

"We don't know," Dr. Landings pleaded.

The female sighed again and changed the direction of her gun. It was quick and almost soundless, but you could still hear it... the muffled sounds of the gun being fired right into Angeline. She buckled, falling backwards off her chair. Dr. Landings choked while Donna simply looked away, unable to look at the scene before her. Rowan looked quickly at Aser to make sure he hadn't seen that. Aser, while frightened by the serious expression on his brother's face and his hand over his mouth, was quiet. He hadn't seen.

Rowan turned his attention back to the scene before him. The gun clicked once more. The female eyes the body of Angeline very carefully, and then turned once more to the others. "Okay, I believe you," she said. Dr. Landings breathed out in relief, still trembling. Donna, on the other hand, looked passive, braced for anything that was sent her way. The female raised the gun to Dr. Landings.

"Wh-What?" he asked confused.

The female clicked her tongue. "I'm sorry, did you think I was going to let you live?" And with that, she fired four more shots; two into Dr. Landings and two into Donna. Against himself, Rowan gasped as the bullets collided with Donna. He stood there, shocked at the noise he had made, and sincerely hoped that they hadn't heard him. He was wrong.

As soon as the noise had escaped his lips, they stopped, perching their ears. He froze, not wanting to make anymore noise. It seemed to have worked until that is, Aser sneezed. _Shit!_ Rowan didn't bother waiting around to see if they had heard or not. He knew they heard, there was no way they didn't.

He took off dashing down the halls, desperately trying to find a way out of the building. As he ran, he heard the sounds of their footsteps as they chased him.

"Come back little boy!" he heard the female call after him. Her voice was followed by the muffled shots of the gun. Rowan swore as he felt the breeze of the bullet soar past his head.

He knew he didn't have a chance if he just stuck to the halls, so he used the one thing he had, that they didn't... the terrain. Rowan internally rejoiced as the thought. He had been attending the hospital for the past nineteen years; he knew the building like the back of his hand. The building... and the fire escapes that Donna used to show him prior in case of emergency.

Momentarily, he glanced back; they were closing in on him. Beneath the gun shots and the sounds of their feet pounding against the flooring, he heard the female mutter something. He dashed into the direction of the stairwell and he heard the footsteps of his chasers recede. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. Something was off, and he had a feeling that that something had to do with the stairwell.

Still running, he decided the best thing to do was not run to the bottom of the stairwell. He rushed through the nearest exit he could find, hugging Aser tightly to his chest. Panting, he stopped and looked around for any indication of where he was. He closed his eyes trying to remember what Donna had told him about the escapes. Then he remembered; he looked around for any indication of a window. _There!_ As soon as he began to run, he heard the noise of the footsteps._ Shit_, he thought, _they're coming_.

He hastily put Aser down and opened the window. As soon as the window was opened, he quickly pushed the little boy through and onto the fire escapes. Terrified, Aser clung to him. He quickly freed himself from the tight grip of his brother and made his way through the window.

"Aah!" he yelled, feeling the searing pain rip through his shoulder. He'd been shot! No time to hesitate, he continued through the window, narrowly missing another shot as he picked up Aser once more and began to climb down the escape. The rain beat against him like bullets as he climbed down the escape, especially his newly acquired wound. But he couldn't stop.

"You bleeding prat!" he heard the female yell after him as she made her way along with the man down the escape. "If you want to get through this alive, I suggest you stop!"

Aser trembled in his hold. "Ro! Ro!," he screamed, terrified.

His shoulder pained and he felt Aser's tears against his shirt, but he couldn't stop. Not when he was so close to the bottom. He had seen what they, namely the female, were capable of. If he was foolish enough to stop, they would kill him on the spot. He vision started to blur, but he managed to make out that he was close, only a few meters off the ground. With a burst of energy, he grabbed Aser even tighter and leaped off the railing of the escape. Aser yelped, but didn't look up.

It was a miracle that he hadn't slipped with the rain and all. Running, he made out the silver vehicle that was his car. If he could just hang in there for just a few more moments, they could make it. But he knew the chances were slim now that they were out in the open and he was starting to become disillusioned from the running, the rain, and the bullet wound. He looked around, trying to find something that would slow them down or at least provided him with some form of cover. _Of course_, he thought, realization dawning on him, _the cars_!

He quickly ran to the cars, ducking behind them as the bullets collided with their exterior rather than his skin. He blinked through the rain, trying to locate his car once again. Bracing himself, he ran from behind the car to the others as he made his way towards his car.

The flurry of gunshots were barely audible through the rain, but he didn't have to hear them. He saw the holes as the bullets collided with the cars. Shakily, he pressed on further.

Suddenly, he felt the searing pain as a bullet grazed his side. He winced, but kept on moving. He centered Aser even more and pressed him tighter into his chest as the bullets whizzed pass him. He silently thanked for the rain because he knew that was the only thing that was keeping the bullets from hitting him.

_Thank God_, Rowan thought relieved; just a few feet ahead was the car. He tightened his grip Aser and used one hand to search for his key. _Found it!_

He quickly clicked the key, unlocking the car. Within an instant, he was at the car. He fumbled a bit with the door, nervousness taking him over. A bullet collided with the area mere inches away from his face, snapping him back to reality. _Shit!_ Unlocking the door, he threw Aser into the bottom area of the car, desperately hoping that the the boy was a bit safer down there.

Once in, he hastily started the car. The car roared to life and Rowan immediately stepped on the gas, not bothering to close the car door. The car sped off, leaving his attackers in his wake.

He had been so relieved, so happy that he had escaped, that he didn't bother to think anymore on the situation. To anyone else, it would have been strange. After all, why would they just leave him and not chase after him? They had been so adamant in leaving no witnesses, so why let him escape? He didn't think, he just sat there in his seat, relief and nausea flooding him.

He quickly checked on Aser, to make sure he was alright.

"Ace?" he called.

The little poked his little blond head out from beneath the compartment. Guilt flooded Rowan as he saw Aser. His blond hair was soaked and his face was red and tear stained from crying. His tiny chest heaved, still recovering the violent bout of crying it had just undertaken. "Ro?" he shakily asked, coming to sit on his brother's lap.

Using one arm, Rowan hugged the toddler. "Yeah?"

Aser sniffled, "I wanna go home."

"We're going Aser. We're going home right now."

* * *

**Okay, I finished. Wow, I know. Once again I apologize for the bit of the wait, but I'm going to fastest I can with my other stories and all.**

**So what did you think? It's not my best chapter, and as with all introductory chapters for me, a bit hard to write. But I think I did a good job. I'm sorry if the story seemed a bit slow in the beginning, but I purposely did that. Seeing that this chapter was "Life, Shattered," I thought it would be the smart thing to explain a bit about their life before it all comes crashing down. Understand?  
**

**Once more I'll, remind you that this chapter takes place four years after Alex's death. I can't really think of any explanations right now, so if you have any questions, just drop a line and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.**

**R&R!**


	3. Chapter 2: Collision

**Polycephaly**

**by. KayCelestine**

**.**

**Chapter 2:**

**.x Collision x.**

* * *

_"... looks to me like a narrow escape.__"_

_

* * *

_He hated this part this part the most of all the phases of his missions -- the briefing. It was annoying, to say the least. Unfortunately, it was necessary, but that didn't mean he still couldn't hate it. He was up-and-coming in what he did, and he was that way for a reason. He was no child and he hated being treated like one, yet that was how all of his clientele treated him. It amused him a bit, that they would be so disdainful towards him, when _they_ were the ones forking out the money to hire _him -- _the hypocrites_._

"Are you listening to me?" the older man snapped. The younger male looked up, noticeably disinterested. Sighing, he lazily nodded to the older man. It wouldn't matter how he treated the guy, the fact of the matter was, he was still going to get the "job" and he was still going to be paid -- whether the two actually got along or not. The older man calmed down a little, glaring coolly at the younger. Apparently he knew too.

The older man cleared his throat, continuing his talk. "As I was saying, I want her dead." The younger male rolled his eyes -- _obviously_ he wanted the woman dead, he was hiring an _assassin_ after all. What the hell did the man think he was here for -- a tea party? This guy was clearly not the most colorful crayon in the box, so he was going to be extra easy to fool. Maybe -- no, definitely a price change was possible. This may not be so bad after all.

"... she has turned Lorrington Enterprises into a laughingstock, a mockery. And for that she will pay -- with her life." Cue the dramatics. The younger male simply looked at him. He sighed. _This is taking far too long_, he thought to himself. Glancing at his watch, he decided to speed things up. He did after all, have other potential clients waiting.

"Yes, yes, I know. I am aware that you want her dead. I am here, aren't I," he said dryly. "So, if you may, please just give me the information on her and if you desire, the way she would like to be _disposed_ of. Now if you don't have anything else, I would like to get this over with." He finished, annoyance clearly written on his face.

The older man stopped and simply narrowed his eyes. "Listen little _boy_, you will watch your mouth when you are in my presence. I am the one that is providing your paycheck after all." He leaned forward from behind his desk, "I would be more careful if I were you." The threat was not empty. As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, the two bodyguards that had laid dormant at opposite sides of him inched forward, sending him a not-so-subtle message. The younger male simply sat, unfazed. _No one is that stupid, to threaten the assassin in which you are hiring_, he thought to himself. But then again, he remembered, this one was not the smartest person, and by the looks of the guards, neither were they.

They were two heavily built males -- one looking to be of African descent, and the other of Middle Eastern descent. They were close fitting black army fatigue with two M16 rifles perched on their shoulder as the perfect accessories. The African man looked to be the stronger and more trigger happy, his finger dawdling closely to the trigger of the gun, despite it being on his shoulder. The other man was calmer, and if any situation was to arise, he would definitely be the harder target. But still, something about them didn't exactly click -- they looked like strictly handymen, rather than competent hired arms. They were the typical people for all brawn and not brains.

The man leaned back, apparently satisfied. The younger male did nothing, mentally making note that he would, at a more appropriate time, remind the older man who was really in charge.

"But back to the matter at hand. This is not your average hit -- this a collaborative, fueled by not only myself, but several other equally prominent figures. They all are all here waiting for you, now if you will, please follow me." The older man stood, silently beckoning for the younger male to follow him. The invitation was not that, but a command. He was going to follow him, whether he wanted to or not. And he did _not_ want to.

The younger male sat resolute in his chair. "This was not part of the agreement..." His training had taught him to always be on the alert and while this man may not seem like much of a threat, he was potentially weakening himself by following him in towards god knows where -- where a possible ambush could be in the works. There was technically nothing to say this was the case, but there didn't have to be. He was up-and-coming and in the past year, he had made quite a few ripples -- and enemies.

The man stopped, looking back at the younger male. "Excuse me, but I was not asking you. Now get _up_!" he snapped, signaling the two men to retrieve him.

They immediately moved forward, not once hesitating. Sitting resolute, his hand discreetly flickered towards the hidden pocket in his jacket. As the men approached, his hand felt around until he felt the cold surface of the object. A creak could be heard as the Middle Eastern guard grabbed after the younger male, ready to drag him to his feet.

It was quick -- but it delivered the message just as it was supposed to. The Middle Eastern man crumpled slightly, trying desperately to hide the pain as he clutched his bleeding hand. His faced was strained, but the pain was being held inside. It was no use -- the younger man smiled.

The older man and the remaining guard stood wide-eyed in shock for a moment before registering what had just taken place. The older man was livid. "What the bloody hell di-"

"Pressure point in your hand," the younger male replied apathetically. "Causes immense pain, so ... I wouldn't count on the pain going away quite yet, or anytime soon for that matter." He flickered with the bloodied pocket knife in his hands, staring at it bored as it danced at his fingertips. The guard gritted his teeth, still clutching his wounded palm. Fury blazed in his eyes, but there was nothing he could do.

The older man composed himself, hiding the fear of what he had just witnessed. He had not even realized what had happened until he saw the knife being revealed and the blood seeping from the guard's hand. A small smile formed on the corner of his lips. He had been right in suggesting him for the mission -- the younger male was not as good as they said he was, he was better.

"You seem awfully happy," the younger male observed. His eyebrows furrowed slightly, this was not the expression he was aiming for. The man should be threatened -- _shocked_, not smiling at him. This was not good. He would definitely have to try harder next time. There was no definite thing to say there would be a next time, but there was one more guard left standing and that was all the conviction he needed.

The older man cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if I offended you, it's just that up until now I had had a few qualms about my hiring you, but it seems I was right in doing so. You are better than they made you out to be." Fixing his tie, he continued, "Anyway, this way please." And just like that, he resumed walking as if the scene that had just taken place never happened.

"I said," the younger male said, the knife still dancing, "that was not part of the plan."

"Well, you wouldn't want to miss this one," the older man persuaded. "This can be your official debut into the elite of your field. If you complete this job, you will most likely become a regular for the people you are about to meet."

The younger male listened intently, the older man having caught his attention.

Continuing, he said, "This hit is no ordinary hit. The lady I have told you about has made more than a few enemies. Important enemies who are all willing to pay twice the amount I offered initially to you, respectively, if you perform the job accurately and the way we want it completed."

This was not part of the plan, the the younger male could not lie -- it was tempting. He had been offered £25,000 for this hit, and here was an offer for it to be doubled per person. He didn't know how many people they were behind this, but judging from what he said, it seemed to be more than three people. Approximately over £150,000 -- that would be unbelievable.

Seeing that he was gaining the upper hand, the older man pressed more. "If you were to please them, they, as I said earlier, would most likely hire you regularly. And these people have plenty of enemies that they are willing to pay abundantly to get rid of."

"Is that so?" the younger male replied feigning disinterest. It was a futile attempt because all members in that room knew that he was more than interested in the offer. He was taught not to value money over precautions, and he wasn't -- he was simply being courteous and listening to what his client was saying. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

Clearing his throat, the older man finished. "It is unexpected, yes, but I can assure you we will not harm you -- well, we can't really harm you, now can we?" He asked rhetorically, referring to the incident that had taken place a few moments ago. The younger male looked at him skeptically, not bothering to hide his apparent suspicion. "Here, when we arrive at the meeting room, I will walk directly in front of you, when you face the door and you will be facing the wall in an empty hall, so it would be difficult for anything to happen to you without you noticing."

The younger male did not for one moment believe the man, but for curiosity's sake, he decided to humor the man. He was not worried about anything happening -- the cold, hard feel of the knife concealed on the back of his neck reminded him that he had come prepared. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. "I'll go."

* * *

Rowan was sure he was heart was on the fast track to popping. His mind reeled taking in what had just happened._ Who were those people_, he managed to think to himself. _Why us?_ In just a manner of hours his life had been turned upside down. His first thought had been that it was people seeking to kidnap them for a ransom -- his parents were after all, quite affluent. But still, why go through all the trouble by killing everyone in sight? He didn't know, but he knew that that was the only real explanation he had that fit. Well it was the only one -- after all, what more was there to it?

The burning sensation in his arm and waist brought him back to reality. He knew he had to get to a hospital, and fast. He grabbed for his mobile phone, dialing the home number. He squinted through the rain as he pressed the mobile to his ear. _Come on Laura, pick up, pick up_, he whispered to himself. The phone ran and ran, but no one picked up. Hanging up, he tried again. And again. And again. _Bloody hell, where are you?_ he thought frustration taking him over. All thoughts of the hospital pushed aside, he immediately pulled a U-Turn in the direction of home. He had to warn Laura in case the kidnappers decided to pay the house a visit.

Grabbing the mobile once more, he dialed the emergency number 999 and quickly ran the story through his head. Instinctively, as the operator answered, his voice changed to a more mature tone. The story seemed ridiculous as it was already without the operator thinking it was just some teenager playing a joke on them. "Yes, I'd like to report a multiple homicide and possible attempted kidnapping..."

Much to his surprise and his luck, the operator had believed him -- apparently the emergency buzzer had been rung at the practice and officers were already on the scene there. The operator assured him that he should return to his home, seeing that he was so close already, and he will then be picked up by an ambulance which will be ready and waiting. It wasn't until she had said that she had dispatched a few squad cars to his home to protect anyone who might be in there that he had really calmed down.

It was frightening, frustrating, and unfathomable -- but at least it was over. And that was enough.

The traffic lights turned red and Rowan stopped the car, sighing as tried to give his mind a break. A soft shuffling got his attention as he looked down to see the sleeping toddler in his lap. He felt a smile creep across his face as he watched Aser sleep. Thank god the boy was so small. He hadn't really understood what happened and he really didn't see anything. All he knew was that there was a lot of yelling and really loud noises -- but other than that, he had been tucked away in Rowan's shirt. Rowan's frightened expression was what had scared him most of all, but thankfully, the toddler had managed to calm down and fall right into sleep. If he was lucky, Rowan would have liked for Aser to wake up when this was completely over, in a hospital bed about to be discharged.

The car resumed its life and Rowan smiled, seeing their house come into view. Like the operator promised, there was a squad car and an ambulance waiting outside the house for him. He couldn't see if Laura was there or not, but he decided not to press it. She- _they_ were safe now, and that was all that mattered.

As he pulled into the drive way, he saw a female officer approach the car. Her black hair was pulled sternly into a bun and there was a permanent scowl plastered on her face, but Rowan didn't complain. She might have been surly, but she was here to protect him, so it really didn't matter how she felt -- as long as she did her job. Rowan looked around, taking in the absence of the other officers. _How peculiar_, he thought, curious.

The officer tapped on his window, bringing him back to reality. "Sorry," he mumbled quickly, opening the door. "I was a bit lost for a moment..."

She simply rolled her eyes, not caring. Her eyes lit up as she caught a glimpse of the stirring little boy, most likely captivated by his cuteness. Her enlightened expression quickly turned surly again. "He's not supposed to be in the front, much less the driver's seat. He could have been injured," she chastised.

Rowan looked at her warily. "Sorry," he mumbled once more. "It's just it has been a long day and it was a comfort for him, to know he was safe in my lap," he explained. The officer wavered a bit, but eventually resumed her chastising expression.

"Doesn't matter, you should know better. If the car had been hit, what would you have thought then?" she rhetorically asked. Before Rowan could snap back, she changed the subject. "I know you are injured, but there are other matters that will be discussed before we take you to the hospital. It won't be long, a few moments, but it is still necessary."

Rowan frowned, a bit annoyed at what could be so important that he would have to sit and bleed for. The officer went to retrieve something from her squad car. He changed his expression immediately after seeing that she was making her way back to him, something in hand. Opening the car door, he exited with Aser in hand. He decided to walk over to the officer, seeing it would probably safer. She was a bit taken back, but said nothing. Finally, Rowan decided to ask. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

The officer looked at him annoyed. "Aren't I a bit old for you?" she replied snippy. Rowan looked at her confused before realization dawned on him, but before he could explain, she cut him off. "Do you know this woman?" she said, handing him the photo.

He took the photo gingerly, scared at what he might see. And he was right. Faltering, he clutched on to the side of the car for balance. Hot tears stung his eyes as he saw the broken and bloodied figure in the photo.

Helping him to a seat, she took the picture back. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." Rowan swayed once more in his seat, gulping as it registered to him. "She was killed when we got here. The ambulance tried everything, but she was killed almost instantly." Lifting Aser, she walked him over to the ambulance, knowing that Rowan would follow diligently. Sure enough, he did. But almost as if he were in a trance.

_No_, Rowan thought. He throat felt sore and hot tears threatened to fall. Suddenly, the pains in his arms were nothing anymore. He heard the soft tinkling of his heart as if shattered into a million pieces. Gone. His mind was blank, there was nothing to say, nothing to do. She was dead, gone, because of them. He knew it would haunt him, the picture -- the way her body had been turned, the way her eyes stared into the picture lifelessly. Had she suffered? Did she know what was happening when they killed her? His stomach lurched. _No_, he thought weakly. He stumbled a bit, confused. His mind had suddenly sprung to life, causing the world beneath him to spin. Everything spun.

"No," he said weakly. _Had I-I even said goodbye to her today?_ he thought as the sickening feeling intensified as he the answer came to him. The tears threatened more now, fighting against his body like a rushing flood. The officer stood over him talking, but he heard nothing. He saw her lips move, but everything blurred. The only thing that he knew was that she was gone. The one person who had been a mother to him was gone. No, they were both gone -- Donna as well. The world turned cold.

Laura was gone. Murdered.

Dead.

The officer's faint voice was suddenly a bit more visible. "Your parents, they were killed as well..." And just liked that, the world blurred again. Donna, dead. Laura, dead. His parents, dead. He felt his chest heave and his throat felt like fire. Just a few moments ago, his heart had shattered; now, the thing that was shattered was his world.

"We need to get them into the ambulance now," he faintly heard a man say. The EMT had gotten out of the ambulance, and the soft pricks on his arm told him that they were applying a bit of things to his wounded arm to hold him over.

"O'Riley is right," he heard another female say. "It's bad enough that we allowed you to talk to him for so long, but it's done now. He's in no state to continue now and if he doesn't get help soon, he might lose that arm of his."

The officer didn't waste of moment arguing. "Alright," she said, obviously defeated, "you can load him up. I got what I needed anyway. The rest another officer can get at a later date."

Standing, he took Aser from the officer, and made his way over the ambulance. The EMT protested in the background, but he didn't care. He had to be strong; at least for now, he had to be felt the soft tugging at his arm as the EMT tried to lift him up. Putting on a mask for his pain, he brushed them off. "I'm fine," he said shakily. The blare of sirens could be heard in the background. Rowan turned his face, steel - eyed as he watched the other ambulance car pull up into the driveway. Everyone turned, glancing at the new ambulance confused.

The door opened, revealing a woman. Her dark hair hung lazily over an eye as she made her way over to them. Rowan gazed at her strangely, something about her was odd. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her -- met her somewhere before. She was a bit damp, most likely caught in the rain at one point, but other than that, on point. She shook the officer's hand firmly, throwing the officer into a bit of a tizzy. "Excuse me, but you are?" the officer asked perplexed.

The lady smiled, but that just made everyone a bit more discomforted. "I'm sorry," she started, her voice eerily familiar. "But we've received orders to take him to St. Peters." Finished, she handed the officer the papers confirming the change.

"No way, that's too bleeding far and he'll most likely lose his arm if you wait that long," an EMT argued. The others nodded in agreement, about to argue the case if they had too. But before they could say anything, the officer silenced them. "She's right. Just let them take him because orders are orders and if you fight about it, the boy will definitely lose his arm." The EMT silenced, but still grumbled as they made their way back to the ambulance.

"... Bloody ridiculous."

"He'll lose that arm for sure," said another.

The lady took Rowan by the arm, leading him to the new ambulance. The sick feeling in his stomach returned. Something was wrong, something wasn't right. Rowan knew something was off, but was too dazed to really do anything. _It's them -- it's because of them. They're all dead and_, he reasoned, not daring to finish his thought.

A man opened the door, allowing him to get in. Once in, he felt the ambulance come to life. Aser shuffled in his sleep as the EMT hooked up the monitors to them. Rowan found himself wincing as the female EMT reapplied his bandages, injected him with something. His armed flinched as she injected the needle, throwing her off. Annoyed, she looked at him. "Honestly, _little boy_, do grow up."

Rowan felt his heart stop. _Little boy? No..._ His stomach lurched as it all became clear to him. Suddenly he remembered her voice and where he had heard it.

_"Come back little boy!" he heard the female call after him. Her voice was followed by the muffled shots of the gun. Rowan swore as he felt the breeze of the bullet soar past his head._

Realization stifled him. He looked at the lady, his throat tight. "You..."

* * *

The soft clanking of the soles of the shoes was the only thing that could be heard in the marble halls. The younger male sighed; _this is taking far too long_. And that was true; they must have been walking for at least 15 minutes, not the he minded, but the wait was proving to be quite annoying.

From the corner of his eyes, his could see the injured guard shooting dirty glances at him. That was the only thing rewarding about the wait, the fact that he got to silently torment the older man without any repercussions. He quickly took of the knife, ensuring it was only visible to the man. With a few twists of his fingers, he made the knife dance, mocking the elder man.

His eyes blazed and his nostrils flared, but as usual, he did nothing. Gritting his teeth, he looked away from the younger male. Seeing the elder man's reaction caused his to chuckle slightly, but seeing that he was now bored beyond repair, he was not going to let up anytime soon. Well, that is until they finally reach the meeting room, or if they reach it for that matter.

The clanking stopped and he immediately froze, looking in the direction of the eldest man. Now on guard, he eyed the man suspiciously. Glancing around quickly, he had noticed that there were no doors to signal going to a meeting. His instincts had been right, it was a trap. His arm stretched lazily to the nape of his neck. While it was a seemingly innocent gesture, he was actually making his way towards his knife.

Suddenly, the wall in front of them opened, revealing a hidden passageway. "I'm not going in there," he automatically responded. Dark, closed spaces were everything he ran from. He did not go into confined suspicious spaces when so many people wanted him dead; hadn't he made that clear to the eldest man earlier?

The eldest man smiled. "I am fully aware of that, that's why I had this arranged to be given to you." He snapped his fingers and the uninjured guard move forward to the younger male, holding out something for him. The younger male eyed him coolly as he took the package from him. It was wrapped, but he could make out the semi-soft texture of the unknown object. Opening it, he saw the black fabric of the bullet proof vest. He glanced at the older man weirdly.

The eldest man smirked. "I thought this would help with the trust a bit."

The younger male rolled his eyes as he put on the vest. It didn't gain his trust one bit, but it was at least a bit of decent protection. The men continued to walk, the youngest following suit.

As soon as he entered the secret passageway, he was officially on alert. Any sudden and/or suspicious movements from the other members of the party would pretty much ensure some sort of graphic injury; something far worse than the little bruise the guard had acquired earlier.

The men descended as they walked, and judging from the appearance of the walls, it appeared to be purely underground -- the builders not even bothering to hide the dirt and rocks that was the wall. There were a few dim lights guiding the way, but other than that, it was bare. He subtly looked around for the cameras; if anything was to arise, knowing where they were was of utmost importance.

"We are almost there," he heard the man say.

Sure enough, as the man said this, they approached a large metallic entrance. The eldest man walked over to the left of the entrance, apparently the key to the entrance being located over there. As soon as he was in position, a scanner appeared, scanning his right eye. Having identified the man, the entranced opened, revealing a darkened room.

The younger male looked at the insides coolly; _Surely the are trying to try my patience_, he thought aggravated. The eldest man motioned for the younger to come inside; though annoyed, he did. The door shut behind me, further darkening the room. There was silence for a few moments, but soon enough, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The first thing he did was glance to his sides so that he could see what the two handymen were up too. He soon realized that the two men had not followed them into the room. Turning, he could make out the silhouettes of at least six other people. Against himself, his mind began to calculate the price of this hit. £300,000; this was getting better and better.

The dim lights shone, taking him a bit by surprise. The room was still darkened, the faces of the others carefully concealed in the darkness, but he could make out their clothes, and thus their gender. As a result, they too could only make him out slightly as well. He could make out the room; it was a fairly small sized room, with a circular table right in the middle of it all. The lights hid the background, only partially revealing the table in the middle, but it was good enough.

The elder man motioned to him for him to follow. The younger man nodded slightly, following him to the seats. Despite the table being circular, the people were on the other side of the table mainly, him being somewhat secluded from them. He didn't mind, he liked it that way._ Perfect,_ he thought; if anything was to happen, he would see immediately and would be in perfect firing range.

"Have a seat," he heard a female say. Silently he strode towards the seat, his eyes not once leaving the silhouettes as he sat.

He heard someone's voice being cleared. "I'm trust you have been informed about your mission?" another voice asked.

The youngest nodded his head softly, not sure of whether he was to answer the question. A mistake like answering a rhetorical question could sometimes prove disastrous, so nodding was often the best way to handle such a situation.

Apparently satisfied, the man continued. "You have only been informed partially about the situation. The hit itself is ranked very highly, because you are not only killing that woman, but you are also to retrieve a few other objects as well."

His eyebrows furrowed; _That explains the price change_, he thought to himself. This certainly changed things considerably.

"Mr. Lorrington had offered you £25,000; well, we are willing to pay double that price individually. As you are aware of, such a price for a single job is unheard of, but that just proves how important this hit is." The man paused, waiting to see if the younger male would betray any signs of emotions of excitement. When he didn't, the man continued. "You will be paid half of the money up front today, the remainder of the money you will receive when you have finished the assignment."

The middle of the table opened, revealing a plasma screen. The younger male sat stoically, his face betraying nothing. The screen was lifted until it was standing upright. It was an unusual screen to say the least; instead of being solid, it was see-through, like a bit of a holographic projection. The screen burst to life, the first image that of a middle-aged woman, presumably in her forties, on the screen. Judging from the angle and quality of the picture, it was taken without her being aware; but despite this, it was still in view enough for him to make out her every last bit of her features.

"This is Abigail Grey; she is your primary target." The voice was different, a female obviously, but it held the same subtle loathing that the previous speaker had. "You are _not_ to kill her, but bring her into custody; custody being at a remote location."

The younger male inwardly frowned. This was not apart of the plan at all; he had been trained as a killer – the concept of capturing was new to him, he had not gotten that far, nor did he chose to. Get in, get out; that was way he lived his life, and the way he planned on it staying. Not to mention -- a remote location? The lady had not disclosed what that location was, and he had a feeling she wasn't going to. This was not a hit, this was more like a mission, and he did _not_ do missions.

The table shifted once more, opening again. This time a small section, no larger than a few inches, raised itself slightly, revealing a silver object. "Once you have captured Ms. Grey, you are to open this device and press the button located inside. This will send a signal and within a few hours, a helicopter should have arrived to take you to the location which I had mentioned earlier."

Taking a chance, he inched forward slightly, and when no one protested, he leaned forward more to take the object. It was a light weight, but was not under any disguise. It was simply silver, small, and bare; but this only meant it was to be concealed. He was right about the location part, it was top secret, and it was apparently going to stay that way.

The screen flashed again, this time displaying an aging man, no younger than mid fifties. "This is Dr. Richard Dawnings; he is to be terminated on point." The screen flashed again, this time the person was a fairly young dark haired woman, looking to be no older than 28. "This is Miss Lorraine Dawnings; she too is to be disposed of." The screen went blank. "You will be given a list of the people and location at the end of the briefing; you are expected to dispose of them as quickly as possible. Any misses or failed attempts should be repeated until thoroughly finished."

The younger sat still; now he knew why he was being paid so much money. This was not just a hit, this was also a kidnapping. His instincts were going wild, a feeling of anxiety spreading over him. He wasn't sure about the mission, but he was not going to be allowed to pull out now, but there was also an adrenaline rush that came with it. He was always eager at what he did, and this was a challenge – one that he was fully prepared to embrace.

The table churned once more, this time revealing the list he had been promised. Glancing at it, he saw that next to each name and location was how they were to be killed. Inwardly he smirked, that part was going to be easy enough; this seemed like it was going to be easy money.

The screen shot to life once more, this time showing what appeared to be a live video feed close to where he had parked his car earlier. _What the hell?_ He thought to himself.

The speaker changed once more, this time returning to the familiarity of the man who had initially hired him. "As you can see, a few of your_ friends_ from your last hit seem to have caught up with you. We've decided to show you this now so that when you leave, you will be prepared." The man chuckled slightly, "Wouldn't want you dying on a hit as important as this, now do we?"

He knew something like this was going to happen. After his identity had been leaked after his last hit, he had expected them to retaliate and come after him; what he hadn't expected though, was for them to have such horrible timing. This was going to make this more annoying – he was now going to have to kill them from between leaving this compound, to getting to his first target. _What a bother_, he thought dryly.

The man chuckled once more. "Now that you know all you need to know about the mission, we'll let you go. You have two weeks to complete this mission." The man stopped, and he could feel his gaze on him. "The price for failure on this mission is simple, _your life_. So, I suggest doing your utmost best at this," he finished darkly.

The younger man got up to leave, but as soon as he raised himself slightly, the screen flashed back to life.

"One more thing before you leave…"

* * *

That ending was not what he had expected. As soon as the man had finished telling him that he was free to go, the screen had flashed back on, revealing something that confused him. He shrugged it off; his job was not to think unless it was how to complete the hit. Details and motives were not for him, nor did he ever try to find out. That made things much easier.

A soft shuffling reminded him about his posse of followers. He quickly took the key out of his pocket, starting the car as soon as he entered. He gave no indication letting them know he knew, and glanced at them from the corner of his eyes. He saw them move slightly, and as a result, his hands shifted, releasing the gun from the compartment in which it was hidden.

From what he could tell, it was only one car, and three men. He was prepared for another car to be lurking elsewhere, but still thought nothing of it. He had limited time and he had to get started once away. The movement he saw in his rearview mirror told him one thing; they were getting ready to fire. Seeing this, he quickly started the car, speeding off at a moderate rate as to not hint to them about his knowing.

As expected, they follow him, still poised. He sighed; apparently this might have been a bit more than he initially thought. His eye caught that of one of the men, and he knew immediately that this had just been taken a level up. Slamming on the breaks, he sped off, leaving the men behind. They followed suite, the sound of their car standing out drastically against the quiet of the road. The younger male looked ahead, spotting the main street as it came into view. _Perfect_, he thought. If there was one thing he was good at, it was stunt driving.

The wind whooshed past him – the wind and the bullets. He groaned; he really needed to invest in some bulletproof windows. The bullets whooshed past him again, this time narrowly missing his ear. Annoyed, he swerved like he was taught, throwing the men off. He zigzagged widely down the barren street, making it difficult for the men to shoot him. Grabbing the gun from the seat, he swerved the car so that he was facing the shooters, and fired a few shots off before swerving the car round once more.

The men were taken by surprise, especially the man in which the bullet had connected with.

From his rearview mirror, he observed the looks of shock on the remaining men's faces. While happy at least one was out of the way, he was still a bit annoyed that it was that – only one.

He spotted a tree up ahead, right before he reached the main and smiled. _How convenient_, he thought darkly. Swerving the car once more, he fired three shots; this time, aimed at the wheel. The shots hit their target, and as expected, the car faltered, swerving out of control. He watched in satisfaction as the car wheeled, colliding mercilessly with the tree; instantly killing the two men inside.

The young male looked out the window, his satisfaction turning to suspicion. _This was easy_, he thought, _too easy_. There should have been more of a challenge. He knew he was more than good, but they were not idiots themselves either. Answering his question, he felt the car thrust violently to the left. Regaining himself, he fired two shots, despite not knowing what he was shooting at. As soon as he looked up, he realized he had been right.

The four men in this car looked at him with fury in their eyes; these were the real Triad members he was used to. The one's he had killed just a few moments must have been in the lower ranks, simply being used as bait for the real catch – them.

The car slammed into his again, this time being accompanied by a few bullets. Pissed, he slammed the brakes, allowing him to be placed behind them. Now with the upper hand, he fired four shots at the men. "Shit," he muttered angrily. It was useless; unlike him, these men actually had bulletproof windows.

He knew his next choice was to fire at the wheels, but from what he could tell, they were run-flat tires and if he shot at them, they would still be able to follow him or escape for a limited, but precious, amount if time. He had to crash the car, but how? The sounds of the main brought his attention back to the situation. "Of course," he said happily; the main street.

He hit the gas until the car tipped at 85 mph. With a rip he plunged onto the main street; the cars behind him swerving wildly, crashing into the other cars. Glancing around, he noticed there were no officers. _Excellent_, he thought. But he still knew better; he quickly took his hands of the wheel, choosing to put on a hat and glasses. _For the cameras_, he thought.

The gunshots whizzed past his head, and immediately, he knew that this had gone on far enough; thankfully, he was in one of his best elements. He swerved the car to the right, making a U-Turn. To anyone looking it was crazy, but to him it was efficient. Nothing is more of a challenge for pursuers than chasing someone down a bustling highway in the wrong lane.

He navigated perfectly, though wildly, through the traffic. The honking of the cars and lorries his only reminder where he really was. The gunshots still ensued, but it was much harder now that they were both dodging traffic. Then he saw it, his opportunity. Coming right at him, was a large lorry; a few tons definitely. He quickly positioned the car on route to the lorry, until they were both in perfect sync. The lorry honked wildly, warning him to move. He smiled devilishly as the distance between them decreased.

The car still pursued behind him, but had put some distance realized what he was planning. The lorry honked for a final time before he swerved out the way. The men knew he was going to do this and was right on point following him. How unfortunate, he thought darkly. As soon as the men were behind them, he swerved once more, this time narrowly missing a car – they on the other hand, did not.

The collision was deafening, but exhilarating. It was finished. The whole situation couldn't have taken more than five minutes, something that made him increasingly happy. Turning off the main, he found himself in a back road.

His mind immediately went back to what had just unfolded. That was amazing; his blood pumped through him as the adrenaline still had control. It was fairly easy, he admit, but still amazing nonetheless. He had gotten better; less than five minutes -- that was something to be enthusiastic about.

His mind wandered, but immediately came back to reality. He had no time for congratulations; he had a mission to complete. He turned the car at the next intersection, trying to get back on the main.

There was a flash of lights and nothing but cold hard realization.

"Shit," he muttered.

* * *

Rowan looked at the lady in disbelief; it was all clear to him now – why she had been so familiar, the sickening feeling in his gut… She was the lady who had just tried to kill him a few hours prior.

"No," he whispered, his body swaying. This was too much; he couldn't handle anymore of this. His mind was still so fragile after hearing the about the deaths of his family. He couldn't handle this right now. "Now honestly," she said, her voice sickly sweet, "do you really think we were going to let you escape so easily?"

There was a soft, menacing chuckling from behind him, presumably the male. How could this have happened? Why him? What had he ever done to anyone? His body swayed more and his mind immediately raced back to the shot. "What did you do to me?" he asked dazed.

She smiled her bloodthirsty smile at him. "I simply gave you something to help you sleep is all. Don't worry; we won't kill you – yet."

His eyes blurred as he felt his body lurched. _No_, he thought once more, as his body descended into sleep. _No_, he thought, trying to fight it off.

He couldn't allow himself to fall asleep. As soon as he said that, he surely wished he did. The next moment, all he felt was his body as if was thrust against the back of the ambulance. It wasn't long before he blacked out; a few second maybe, but he knew one thing – they had just crashed into a something.

The door latch flew opened and he was thrown out the ambulance. He hadn't had time to register it before everything went black.

Not even when his body collided with a sickening thud with the ground.

* * *

**So what did you think?  
**

**That's all. The next chapter I will reveal who the guy you've been hearing so much about it. I hope you liked him; so naturally, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. ;D**

**Okay, so Rowan and Aser were taken by the people but then they apparently crashed into something. Can you take a gues as to waht they crashed into? Tree, car, pole, person?**

**It's really late [early] right now: 5:04 am, so I really have nothing to say. So if you have any questions, please feel free to drop a line. :D Also, the K-Unit will not be making any more appearances in this story -- I'm not sure whether I should include one of two at the very end, but I don't know... So I hope that answers some of your questions about what happened to them.**

**Most importantly, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed :D **

**Feel free to tell me if you think I should shorten the chapters.  
**

**Disclaimer: I _DO NOT_ own Alex Rider or the opening lyrics which are from "I Know What I Am," by Band of Skulls.**

**R&R s'il vous plait ;D  
**


	4. Chapter 3: Aftereffects

_Okay, I'm terribly sorry for not updating sooner. /facepalms/ I know it's been quite a few months counting. I'm really, really sorry. I had no intention for this to happen, I simply just got busy and then hit a massive writer's block. Please bear with me, I promise from now on to update within a decent time... to the best of my abilities._

_I hope I didn't lose any of you readers, even though I would completely understand if everyone ran away. But I would much rather if you didn't. _

_I see we've got quite a few theories on what happened in the last chapter, and I must say that I was impressed with some of them. Granted, I doubt that they were completely correct, but it was still interesting to read, nonetheless._

_This chapter might be a bit slow sometimes, but I guarantee that it will pick up throughout, and I really hope that it does. I would also like to thank all those who reviewed the last chapter, and say that I was extremely touched that I got so many reviews. _

_Thanks to: _

Amika-Kyou: Singer La chanteuse: XxNEONQUEENxX: prone2dementia:  
shadow936: Izzy-I.R.T: Akuma-beast-16: Castaway5: anom: AllThatIsGoldDoesNotGlitter: TaylorMyaTaylorMya:

_Thank you once more!!_

_DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Alex Rider, nor the opening lyrics which are by Alesana, and am in no way profiting off of these._

**

* * *

Polycephaly**

**by. KayCelestine**

**.**

**Chapter 3:**

**.x Aftereffects x.**

**

* * *

**

_"My little sheep your wolf has come..."_

_

* * *

_

The pain was what hit him first... the pain, and then the reality of what had just happened. He tried to sit up, but between the searing pain in his side and the crushed pieces of metal encasing him, all he could do was merely wiggle in his place. _'Fuck, fuck, fuck,'_ he internally swore. Not even one hour into his assignment and he had already managed to fuck it up. He blinked his eyes, trying to make sense of the sight in front of him.

A blur was what he had seen initially; a blur of red lights mixed with the yellow rays of the sun. He blinked some more, the scene in front of him coming more and more into focus. His windshield was completely shattered. A metal rod was protruding through the exposed glass, narrowly missing the injured male's neck. He sighed a pained sigh as he realized how close he had come with a brush with death. It would have been a shame for him to have died in the beginning of his career... both a shame and a mockery.

He twisted himself a bit more, ignoring the pain that was now shooting through his entirety, no longer simply his side. He moved his right arm towards the car door, and much to his surprise and luck, found that despite the car being semi-totaled, he could most likely be able to come out through the door.

Taking a deep breath, he mustered up what bit of misplaced strength he had left and slowly managed to straighten himself up the best he could. Positioning his right foot, he aimed his kick at the weakest point in the door. As expected, the door creaked opened. He kicked at it once more, this time managing to open the door enough for him the crawl, or fall, out.

He crawled out the side of the door clutching his side, wincing as the sun hit him full on. He noticed a few droplets of blood and realized he was more injured than he had initially thought. He swore under his breath at his stupidity for not checking this out sooner. He looked down at the now bloody hand that had been clutching his side. His side had been pierced by something; nothing too badly for him, but bad enough that if he didn't do something immediately, he would end up regretting it. He managed to catch a glimpse of himself in side of his car.

The image was a bit distorted, but clear enough. His head was bleeding, a minor cut from the impact. His face was covered in small scrapes and bruises, with a large gash leading from his collarbone downward towards his left arm. _Shit, this was not good. Not good at all. _His right leg was banged up, but nothing too serious. A few minutes of walking and he guessed it would be back to some sort of normalcy; the small pangs of pain reduced. All in all, the main things he had to worry about were the gash and his side.

The faint feeling spreading over him told him he need to get some supplies... and fast. He was losing a bit too much blood for comfort. He took his tattered shirt off, ripping it two and tied one half around his waist and the other over his shoulder. He winced as he tightened the cloths, the pain shooting through his body as a million pinpricks. _There_, he thought. A make shift tourniquet should hold him for a little while... long enough for him to get somewhere.

Taking a deep breath once more, he looked ahead to see what exactly he had hit.

The red lights of the ambulance were still flashing... even as it laid dejectedly on its side. The wheels were still spinning, indicating that the collision had taken place not too long ago. Another ounce of luck... The shadow of a smile formed on the corners of his lips. If he moved quickly, there was a good chance that he would be long gone before anyone would realize that there had been an accident, much less for anyone to call for help. The ambulance was a few yards away from him, leaving him to wonder if the impact had been that severe, how exactly he was alive.

He brushed the idea off, using his less injured hand to feel for his cellphone. The empty feel of his right pocket signaled that unless he found his cell, he was flying blind. _Shit_, he muttered. It seemed some form of higher being was playing a game with him.

He muttered under his breath and scanned around the car to see if his luck would come into play once more and his cell would simply be out in the open, waiting for him to see it and retrieve it.

Sure enough, there it was. The sun's reflection off the back of it easily caught his eye. His smirk turned into a full blown grin as he limped over towards it to pick it up. Silently he prayed that the cat-and-mouse game would end right there and then.

But he highly doubted that.

He was right once more. The sunlight was reflecting off the back of the cell... or more fittingly, the back of what should have been the cell, which was simply just the back. His lips twitched in annoyance. This was seriously... pissing... him... off. He picked up the back, and in a fit of fury, he flung the broken piece as far as he could, ignoring the pangs of pain that ran through his arm.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" he screamed to the broken scene in front of him. "ARG!" he yelled, kicking the ground. He caught his breath and seethed, trying to calm himself down. It was basic training to not let your emotions -- especially anger, get the best of you. Keeping calm or losing your cool was the difference between life and death.

He took a deep breath once more, and tried to figure out how he was going to do this. _Think,_ he told himself, _this is nothing. Of course._ He scowled, realizing that he was going to have to do this the old-fashioned way: jack a car and some medical supplies. _This might take a while_, he thought ruefully, knowing damn well he didn't have that long. The trick with emergency tourniquets were that while they were lifesavers, keeping it on for too long stopped the flow of blow towards the damaged area, eventually killing the tissue and possibly resulting in the lost of the limb/area. Granted, that could take a couple hours, but he knew that fatigue would come much sooner.

He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

Opening his eyes, he realized one thing... the ambulance. If there was any chance of him getting medical supplies, it was in there. He briskly walked towards the ambulance, gently making his way inside. He silently prayed that the ambulance would stay as it was and that the whole business of the cat-and-mouse was over. The door was already opened, and he could see that the people in this were not as lucky as he was.

There were two people, a man and a woman, both dressed in medical attire. He guessed these were the EMT who were responding when he hit them. It was hard to tell their facial features, blood covered the entirety of their faces; the only indication that one was a woman was the hair. From the look of them, they had died instantly when they had collided with the car. He turned his face, not out of disgust or pity, but out of urgency. Shame what happened to them, but it happened to _them_. He was a trained assassin -- two dead bodies were nothing to him.

Gently, he reached up over the bodies, grabbing to the walls for some balance. He leaned over and fished through the mass of medical supplies that were scattered along the side of the ambulance. He bit his lip as the pain shot through his arm and through his side, but continued to look for the supplies, which was proving to be quite difficult.

The collision has turned the ambulance, and everything in it, on its side. The supplies were trashed, either being broken or simply thrown into the pool of debris that had accumulated at the bottom (side) of the ambulance. For all he knew, what he needed would most likely be at the bottom, underneath the debris and supplies.

He fished through the debris some more, until a small shuffling caught his eye. He froze instantly, half-unsure what to do. The shuffling increased a bit more, indicating that it was not what he thought initially. He has suspected that the ambulance had been on its way to get someone, not on its way _back_. But it seemed that whoever they had picked up was someone alive under the debris. He turned his head from the noise, knowing that their was no way the person could get out from underneath those things.

The shuffling persisted, much to his annoyance, but never increased. Soon, the shuffling stopped._ Finally_, he thought.

He heard a small voice call, almost whisper. It was tiny, but he was sure he heard it. He stopped. He could more than leave the person there, but he had a feeling, a small feeling, that he would regret it if he did. He sighed, the battle raging in his mind as to whether or not he should do something. _But_, he thought, _if I help them..._ He weighed the options in his head; try and find the supplies and then leave, or help the person, which would would precious time lost. He didn't have time to wait for help to come and the questions and investigation that would be helped if he did.

He groaned, but decided that looking for supplies were useless. They were too damaged and it was too time consuming to look for them. He would just have to commence without them.

Briskly, he made his way over to the area where he heard the noise. He don't know why the hell he cared about the person, but he felt that if they actually managed to survive the accident, they deserved a break too. He wasn't going to stay with them and wait for help, simply free them -- and then leave them.

He gently set himself down against the bottom of the ambulance, careful not to further damage anything. He gently, but swiftly, sifted through the debris, throwing everything to the side. Soon he could see a small arm through the mess. Using this as a incentive, he sifted through faster, making his way to the person.

He looked down and a pair of bright brown eyes looked up at him. _A child... _"Hello there," he whispered, gently taking the child out of the debris and into his arms. The child flinched, unsure of what to do, but not having any other options.

You could tell easily that the child was a darling thing, even though his face was dirty and slightly bloody. The older boy scanned him, making sure he was fine, and minus the few scrapes and bruises, he was. The little boy seemed to have some hell of luck, even better than his own, to have survived the crash and entrapment that ensued, with only a few minor scratches.

The child sniffled, "I'm scared... I wan' my Ro."

He caressed the child's matted blond hair. "There, there," he said, his voice sickly sweet, "I'm here to help. I'm Sevastien, but you can call me Sev. What's your name kiddo?"

"I'm Aser Massey," he answered, his little voice tinkling. The little boy, Aser, started to nod off -- fatigue clearly overtaking the boy. Sevastien cradled him a bit more, slowly making his way out of the ambulance.

Sevastien chuckled, his eyes glinting. "Well don't worry Aser, I've got you know." Aser looked up at him, readily accepting Sevastien's protection as only a child would. He gently nodded his head before sleep overtook him.

Sevastien looked at the sleeping child in his arms as he made his way down the street, abandoning the scene behind them. He whispered softly in the toddler's ear, a small smirk appearing on his features.

_

* * *

_Tony inhaled, glad to finally be free. He needed this break, god knows he did. He took another puff of the cigarette as he observed the bustling streets. It was crowded as usual. The same bustling crowd he was born into and that same crowd he grew up around. Most people found it weird, but he loved the noise... it calmed him. He was so used to it, the very thought of not being around it petrified him. That was one of the main reasons why after 34 years, he had decided to stay right where he was. He loved his neighborhood, and he wasn't leaving anytime soon. Well, not again anyway.

Suddenly, through his bliss, he heard his name being called. He groaned at the voice, annoyed that his break was being cut short so soon. He knew exactly who is was-- it was the same person that always _ruined_ his fun. He knew it probably wasn't true, but at times like these, he could not help but think that sometimes she did things like this just to bother him and ruin his fun.

"Tony," the voice said, annoyance clearly visible. "Don't ignore me." Tony simply stood there at the balcony and took another puff of the cigarette. He gazed into the crowd, purposely ignoring the voice. He knew it was a dangerous thing to ignore his temperamental partner, and he wasn't. He was simply cooling his anger.

"Tony..." the voice growled, all signs of warning slowly fading away. Tony stood there, still ignoring her. She could wait, he decided. She was going to have to. Slowly he could feel the anger rising off of his partner, and realized that the waiting period had now ended. He waited a few more seconds, sighed and then outed the cigarette.

"_Yes Donovan_," he said, turning to face the angry woman. She was a lean, but lightly muscular woman, with light brown hair, and a no bullshit expression. It was obvious that she was quite an attractive lady, but also just as obvious that she was a cold one.

"So_ now_ you answer me?" she snipped at him, her dark brown eyes narrowed into a slit. "Why the hell didn't you answer to me the first _three times_ I called you?"

Tony frowned, annoyed at her remark. "_Now_ you call for me?" he mocked, " Why the hell didn't you call me an hour and a half ago, before I took my break." It was very childish to mimic her in the way that he had done, but he was seriously annoyed. She was such an annoying woman.

"... Don't try that bullshit," she hissed, "you had enough time to relax, so kiss my ass if you think I give a damn that I'm interrupting your cigarette break."

Tony felt his anger flair. "... I was needed in the Communications department ," he said quickly, barely restraining the anger that was now building in his voice.

She let out a wry chuckle, her dark brown eyes glinting viciously at him. "No, you _volunteered_ for it."

Tony all but laughed. "Spare me, you're an annoying shrewd and you purposely planned your timing." As soon as the words escaped his mouth, he regretted them. He wasn't afraid of her, or worried at what she could do, but it was the fact that they were partners that made him regret his words. They needed to get along for the sake of their cases, and that would be impossible if she were mad.

And she was not one to let _anything_ go.

She pursed her lips and glared at him some more, but then let out a deep, albeit aggravated, breath. He glanced at her dubiously. She was never one to forgive easily, and especially not to him, but here she was, seemingly dropping the subject.

She looked at him, still annoyed, but seemingly calming herself down. "We have a case. There's been a multiple homicide reported."

Tony immediately forgot about their little incident and zeroed in his attention to what Donovan was saying.

"... There's been a report that six people had been murdered uptown at an upscale medical practice, and another report of three people being murdered at their home. There's not much on these yet, but so far, they seem to be connected. Grab your shit," she commanded, "... and I'll tell you the rest on the way there."

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"... and don't think I'm letting your smart ass remark go." With a sharp turn of her heel, she walked off, leaving Tony to smirk to himself._ That_ was the Donovan he knew.

He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out another cigarette. It had been a while since they had gotten a case that was more important that their fighting, and he wasn't going to lie, the petty crimes had started to get boring.

He lit the cigarette and smirked once more. It was a sad thing to laugh at murder, but he wasn't. He was smirking at the fact that somewhere out there, there was some asshole who thought he was going to get away, and Tony was more than ready to catch him. He took a puff of the cigarette and put the pack back in his pocket.

"Marshall, get your ass moving!" he heard Donovan yell from below the stairs.

He sighed, a small scowl appearing on his features, she really _was_ annoying.

* * *

"So what are the details?" Tony asked, struggling to keep his eye on the road. He silently cursed mother nature, or global warming, which ever was responsible for the sketchy weather today. One moment it was clear, and the next it was a torrent of rain; he knew that this must be hell for the first-response unit.

He heard Donovan snort from the seat next to him. "Your driving is atrocious," she said simply, adjusting her hair. He shot her a sideways glare, only to be greeted with a sly smirk. They were certainly your average run-of-the-mill dysfunctional, and sometimes bipolar, partners.

"There's been six murders, I told you that right, yeah, so the thing is, the first murders happened at this upscale practice. There seemed to be no motive, and right now, we've got no witness, except for one that's unaccounted for."

Tony glanced at her sketchily, "Unaccounted for?"

She shrugged slightly, her dark brown eyes narrowed on the papers. She glanced up at him, her expression both worried and suspicious. "Exactly. The operator got a call from him reporting the homicide at the practice, and she then instructs him to go home where she'd have an officer waiting for him. And then when he goes home to meet the officers, he finds out that everyone in his house have been murdered. And he's about to get in the ambulance," she stopped for a moment, fidgeting through the reports, "... here we go, he was reported to have several injuries, I believe a gunshot wound to his shoulder, but he was picked up by another ambulance, and after that, he disappeared. "

She looked up from the paper once more and at him. He glanced to the side at her, the same expression written on both their faces. They were thinking the same thing, he knew that as a fact. Witnesses just didn't disappear, they died.

He broke his gaze and focused on the road. The rain had started to beat down twice as hard as it had before, and it was getting increasingly hard to see where he was going. He hated the rain, there was nothing good about it. He didn't care about that the scientific bullshit, in his mind, rain was terrible. Because every time it rained, that meant that things were just going to get worse.

"... The other ambulance is accounted for as well; in fact, according to the reports, it was never issued."

Tony felt his throat tighten. It had gotten worse.

From across him, Donovan sifted through the papers some more, scanning for only the necessary information. That was always her strong suit, skimming, that is. She, unlike Tony, could go through dozens of pages in less than an hour, and not only tell you what was important, but also give you her theories. Tony on the other hand, was good at calling bullshit when he saw it.

Donovan cleared her throat, "There's actually two witnesses unaccounted for, they're siblings: Rowan Massey, aged 19, and Aser Massey, aged 3."

Tony nearly brought the car to a screeching halt. It couldn't be, he knew those names perfectly. Well, the last names that is. "Massey," he asked incredulously, his eyes wide with shock, "_The_ Massey's."

Donovan nodded, she was just as shocked as he was. "The media, they'll be all over this if we don't get there fast enough," she said, monotone. "I've given the first- response unit strict orders to not let anything or anyone near the crime scene, and to keep this quiet at all costs."

This s where he realized that things had taken more than a turn for the worst. The Massey's were a very influential family, and if the media ever caught wind of their sudden demise, solving the case would be a hell lot harder with the eyes of England watching them. But this, how could this have possibly happened, Tony reasoned in his mind. They must have had dozens of security on watch and stand-by.

The children he knew nothing of, after all, he was pretty sure they had been kept under lock and key from their birth. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he had ever heard of the boys being mentioned before. They were definitely far too secretive to be destroyed so easily. Tony played with some theories in his head. This was getting harder by the minute, and he hadn't even reached the crime scene yet.

Donovan cleared her throat. "They weren't at their estate. From what I have here, they just use that as a cover. They really live elsewhere, here," she said, turning the paper to Tony's angle so he could see it. It was a small section about their housing, and how completely different it was from what everyone had known. "It's far less secure, and to be honest, quite simple."

"That's ridiculous," Tony said, barely focusing on the road. "Why the bloody hell would they do a thing like that?" Donovan stared at him with attentive eyes, knowing all too well not to interrupt. "They should have put some form of security," he grumbled, trying his best to soothe his anger.

"It's a genius idea," Donovan said, her hands placed firmly on the dashboard as Tony swerved through the slippery streets. "And it would have worked too, had it not been for the small detail of not arming their current home."

They both scowled, disdain apparent on both their faces. _What an idiotic mistake..._ they thought to themselves. To go through all that trouble to ensure their safety, and then not have any significant form of security around them.

"It's always the ones that are the most careful and over confident," he heard Donovan mutter softly under her breath. And it was true, he reasoned, it was always that type of people who fell the hardest. Because no matter what they did, they always forget one small and always crucial detail.

Donovan put her hand to her forehead, "And now, we've got two missing children, and the murder of two people that many would like to rid of." She groaned, annoyance flickering across her features. "At least now we've got something to keep us occupied."

Tony flashed her a wry smile, "You're terrible Karen." Karen smirked, amused at his remark, and opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off. "We're here," he said, referring to the flash of lights that was now before them. "It's go time," he said softly under his breath as he made his way out of the car.

There was a woman waiting for them as they exited the car. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties; she was an average woman, with dark hair and the light brown eyes, nothing too spectacular but something that would garner your attention, even if for a moment. Though she was dressed appropriately for the weather, she was still slightly wet, and utterly frustrated. As Tony and Karen jogged slightly towards her, she nodded a brief greeting, fatigue clearly written in her expression.

"Sandra Moore," she said as she held her hand out in a formal greeting.

"Tony Marshall, and Karen Donovan," Tony introduced as he shook her hand. Karen did nothing but simply nod a small greeting, as she clung tightly to her umbrella.

Sandra nodded once more towards Karen. She turned slightly, motioning towards the hushed scene in front of them. "And if you'd follow me, this way."

Looking at the scene, you would never have guessed in a million years what had taken place only a few hours prior. The house was still intact, beautiful and untouched. The glass was still there, shimmering and delicate. The windows were still opened, allowing the afternoon sun to shed its light. Oh it was beautiful the setting, and perfectly peaceful as well.

Tony felt uncomfortable as he observed the rooms. He walked gingerly through the halls, as if he was still liable to punishment dirtying a house so darling. But he wouldn't. It was strange to see a murder scene like this, and he hated it. Throughout his years as a homicide detective, he'd never once had to deal with something like this. He dealt with the nitty-gritty, the violent stuff. He went to places were murder was common, and walking the line was an everyday occurrence.

He never experienced murder in places like these... places so guarded and acceptable. Here murder seemed like something you would only hear about in the papers, and that unnerved him more. He wasn't used to this, and he didn't want to. He liked when murder was sterotypical, he hated the grey edges.

But this wasn't stereotypical, this was the murder that no one ever wanted to get. This was the murder of a family.

* * *

Sevastien groaned, annoyance slowly overtaking him. This was turning out to be one hell of a day. He touched his bandages softly; he was lucky he had found all of those supplies, and even more lucky that his injuries were not as bad as he initially though, but it was still annoying. Though tended to, he was still injured, with a rather large dangerous group of people after him, and he was still being toyed with.

He swore softly under his breath as he slammed the phone back on its hook. He ignored the curious looks of the people passing by. He knew he was causing some slight attention to himself, but he could care less right ran a hand through his hair, pissed. This was the fourth number he'd called, and it was still the wrong one. He rubbed his temples gently, desperately trying to remember the emergency number. He smirked wryly as he recalled what his boss had said about him never forgetting it. He had sworn to remember, and he did, every time but the one time he needed it.

Sevastien turned to the sleeping figure of the small boy. It was a mean thing to rest the boy on the ground as he did, but he certainly couldn't hold him, not when one hand was being used for the phone, and the other shoulder was banged up. The little boy slept peacefully, his matted blond hair falling on and off his face as he breathed. Sevastien couldn't lie, the little boy, Aser, was an extremely good kid. He had woken up for a few moments to allow Sevastien to check him, and then once the process was finished, he fell asleep once more. At first he had been alarmed at the younger boy's napping, but he quickly brushed it off as a toddler thing.

Aser was a cute kid, and Sevastien was almost sorry that he had to turn him over... almost, but not quite there. Right now, the only good thing that had happened so far was his main target being led right to him. He couldn't grasp why they had wanted the small boy so desperately, but then again, he didn't care. All that mattered was completing his mission, and so far, he seemed to be on the right track, despite the setbacks.

He slowly picked the younger boy up, he was going to have to do this the old fashioned way. He scanned around, looking for the perfect car to take. He had been traveling with the previous car for a few hours, and knew it was time for a much needed change. His gaze fell upon a simple and average car, the model's name escaped him, but it didn't matter, it was good enough. He walked over to the car with a normal pace, as to not attract any people, and started the process of taking the car.

He grinned as he realized that whoever owned the car had left the doors unlocked. Wasting not time, he rested Aser down softly on the backseat, and proceeded to take the wheel. He didn't have a key, but he was more than trained on how to jump start a car. Sevastien grinned once more. "And now, to bring you home."

* * *

_Once again, I apologize for the long wait. This chapter is significantly shorter than the others, but that's because I simply couldn't think of anything to add to this chapter per say. _

_The next chapters should be longer, or if anything, the same size. I realized that as this progresses, it won't be as wickedly long as the first three chapters, but should not fall to anything below this chapter length._

_So what did you gaiz think of Tony and Karen. They are a bit dysfunctional, but they are also very similar, something you'll notice in the upcoming chapters. I can't think of anything else to say, so I hope you like._

_Also, you'll find out what happened to Rowan in the next chapter. But, do we have any theories so far?_

_Got a question you want to ask? Just go to my profile and formspring me. This is for you anon reviewers, so I can answer your questions if you have any!  
_

_Hope you enjoyed, R&R!_**  
**


	5. Author's Note: Important

Well...

Hello, anyone who might be out there. It's been a while, no doubt. For some a year, for some two years... but I just wanted to drop this simple note. I know I've said this plenty of times, only to renege on my promise, that **I will update my stories**.

I promise this time will be different.

This time I will update this story. Granted if might happen more on a biweekly or monthly basis (I have other commitments, stories, issues that I have to attend to), but I solemnly swear that I will update this story. And if or when I get burned out from the hectic business of juggling college, family, my health and writing, I will leave a note informing you about my brief hiatus -_which will never be longer than a mont_h-.

If there are still any fans out there of this particularly story, I sincerely and wholly apologize for my thoughtlessness. Your support meant, **means**, the world to me, and I completely betrayed your loyalty by throwing my writing priorities under the bus.

Please, forgive me.

As for the update of this story itself - it should come up by next month (as in 30 or so days from now and not two week -or maybe two weeks depending on the story-).

*On the off chance that I take a bit too long to update, my PM system is up. You have_ full and total permission_ to harass the living daylights out of me till I update.

Thank you and I apologize once more.

-Kay


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